Quick Brown Fox

Love Letters & Writer to Writer

2012-02-15T06:34:00.002-05:00

Hi, Brian.
I hope things are going well in your writing world. I just wanted to share some exciting news with you.
I'm so thrilled to let you know that my young adult historical novel will be published by Dancing Cat (an imprint of Cormorant Books) in Fall 2012. The story is about a teenage girl caught between the Soviet and Nazi armies in Estonia in 1941. The novel evolved from a story that I wrote in one of your creative writing classes a few years ago. Those classes were a great support and learning experience for me. Thanks so much.
Best regards,
Urve Tamberg
www.utamberg.com
For information about submitting to Dancing Cat Books, see here. For information about upcoming weekly writing classes, see here.

Nancy Kay Clark,
publisher CommuterLit.com

Brian, and all my amazing fellow writers!
You can read my first published story, “Plenty of Fish” on CommuterLit here.
Brian, thanks for all your suggestions, I made a nice plug for your courses in my bio. Hope there is a spot for me in the spring course!
Hugs,
Joanne McAuley
For information on submitting to CommuterLit, see here.

Hi, Brian;
I’ve just finished writing a Young Adult novel and I wanted to thank you for helping me get to this point. The novel took root during on of your workshops in June 2010. It was part of a special option to bring 2 pages of writing for you to review and edit. I banged out a couple of pages based on a vague concept I had. Your positive reaction inspired me to turn the concept into a completed manuscript.

When I see how far I’ve come, from my first attempts at writing to now, I’m struck by how much I’ve matured as a writer. I credit your various workshops and classes for this growth. Now begins the daunting task of querying literary agents. Thank goodness I took your December 3rd workshop on how to get published.

Thank you again for helping me turn a fuzzy idea into The Other Side of Normal.
Marilyn Hunter

The next How to Get Published workshops will be May 12 in Newmarket (details here) and June 9 in Brampton (details here). I'll have a literary agent as a guest at both.

Hi, Brian.
I wanted to let you know that my short story "London's Fog" was published in the One Thousand Trees online magazine. The story is in the February 2012 issue. It's the first short story I've ever had published and I'm quite excited.
Cheers,
Kara Bartley
You can read Kara's story here. For information about submitting to One Thousand Trees, see here.

Dear Brian,
I’d like to let you know that I sent a short story, "My Purse" to Transition Magazine and it has been published in the fall issue. Thank you for Quick Brown Fox. I’m happy to receive it.
Jenny Vasilescu
Kitchener
To read Jenny's story, see here. For information about submitting to Transition, see here.

Writer to Writer

Dundas Town Hall

The Scribblers Writing Group invites your to share your talent with us. All forms of writing are welcomed, and no criticism takes place. We are warm-hearted folk who enjoy reading excerpts from our works aloud, and we encourage members to express themselves via short stories, memoirs, essays, poetry, etc.

If you are looking for a sociable hobby or enjoy meeting friendly local people to share experiences and laughter, you cannot do better than to join the Scribblers. No restrictions as to age, sex, nationality, or entities from other planets. Come, let us give you a hearty welcome! No fees required.

Meetings take place on alternate Thursdays at 1 p.m.
in Dundas Town Hall, Main Street, Dundas, Ontario
Next meeting: Thursday, February 23
For detailed information, please contact Yvonne Garry at: ygarry@cogeco.ca

Hi, Brian.
I wanted to let you know that I have opened a new art studio in downtown Burlington at 2054 James Street. Classes are starting with a kids' March Break Camp from March 12th -16th and Spring Classes for kids, teens and adults are to follow. Looking forward to creating and showcasing lots of artwork!
The Studio is called The Art of Learning and you can check out the website here.
Talk to you soon,
Giulia Morosin

Hello, Brian.
I have written a series of five books directed towards children ages 0-5 years old, each about 20 pages (heavy on illustrations and little words). The illustrations are almost complete. I am looking for an editor and book manager to help me finish the book and self-publish. I have no idea how much this would cost to pay someone, nor do I know of anyone. If anyone can help me out, please get in touch.
Thank you,
Kristine Laing
ktolaing@gmail.com

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T09:04:00.000-05:00

Bundoran Press seeks stories for science fiction anthology and book-length manuscripts

2012-02-13T06:33:00.001-05:00

Stealing Home by Hayden Trenholm,
published by Bundoran Press

Bundoran Press Publishing House
4378 1st Ave
Prince George, BC Canada
V2M 1C9
http://store.bundoranpress.com/

Bundoran Press is pleased to announce that their new science fiction anthology: Blood and Water is now open for submissions.

Conflicts over oil and diamonds marked the latter half of the twentieth century but the fights of the next century will be more visceral. You can live without oil or diamonds but try surviving without fresh water, safe food or clean air. Try surviving while deserts form in Africa and the heartland of America; while oceans claim back coastal cities and Pacific islands.

Blood and Water will gather the stories of the new resource wars that will mark the next fifty years – stories of conflict and cooperation, of hope and despair – all told from a uniquely Canadian perspective. Conflicts with America over Canada’s resources, Canadian solutions to global problems or personal narratives of coping with change and conflict could all inspire your stories. Or you could surprise us!

Hopeful stories will be as welcome as dystopias (perhaps more so). Beyond that, we are looking for strongly plotted, character-driven stories where science – physical, biological and social – plays a critical role.

Blood and Water is only open to submissions from Canadians, landed immigrants living in Canada, long time residents of Canada, and Canadian expatriates living abroad.

Submissions should be near future science fiction although urban or non-traditional fantasy (no high or mythic fantasy), cross-genre, slipstream or space opera may be considered if they make a strong contribution to the theme.

Short fiction of up to 8,000 words will be considered. No poetry and, generally, no stories under 1,000 words.

Deadline: Sunday, March 4th, 2012 (midnight Pacific Time). Decisions will be made as quickly as possible. Please do not query until after April 30th.

E-mail submissions to hayden@bundoranpress.com
Send the entire story with your submission; do not query before submitting. In the subject line, use “Blood and Water:” followed by the title of your story. Stories can be sent as .docx, .doc or .rtf files attached to the e-mail. The body of the e-mail should include your contact info, a brief bio with your three most significant or recent publications. Don’t describe your story – the work speaks for itself. Do indicate how you meet the “Canadian” requirement noted above.

Payment: $50 for original stories under 3,500 words to a maximum of $100 for longer works. Stories over 8000 words will not be considered. Reprints will be paid at flat rate of $50. Authors will receive one free copy of the first edition, and additional copies at a 50% discount.

Full submission guidelines here. Bundoran Press is also accepting book length submissions and they’re currently looking for fantasy novels, any subgenre, but no young adult stories – they’ve had too many of those lately. Submission guidelines here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

"Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer, reviewed by Sandra Lucas

2012-02-12T13:10:00.000-05:00

Little, Brown And Company, September 1, 2010, Trade Paperback, $12.91, Kobo $9.99

Now that the film version has been nominated for an Oscar, Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is bound to get lots of attention. But I find his non-fiction book Eating Animals more compelling.

In his introduction, Foer recounts his grandmother’s experience during the last days of World War II when many were dying of starvation. A Russian farmer offered his grandmother a piece of meat.

“He saved your life,” Foer says.

“I didn’t eat it.”

“You didn’t eat it?”

“It was pork. I wouldn’t eat pork.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“What, because it wasn’t kosher?”

“Of course.”

“But not even to save your life?”

“If nothing matters, there’s nothing to save.”

Her response sets the tone for the book and the examination of the issue of what we choose to eat and more importantly what we choose not to eat, based on principle – a personal matter for Foer who was expecting the birth of his first child while writing this book and was trying to decide whether he would feed animals to his child.

It is with this in mind that Foer leads the reader to consider their own choices while he provides an education about the production of animals for consumption.

He delves into the farming of fish, the storing of poultry, the effects of these on the environment, and the argument for vegetarianism versus omnivorism. He approaches each of these topics as a reporter would, sometimes as a Gonzo reporter would – infiltrating a pig farm in the dead of night on a fact finding mission.

But he remains open to the possibility that animals may be processed in such a way that it is sustainable for the planet and acceptable to his own conscience. He travels the country, speaking to experts and visiting abattoirs and aquaculture fisheries to best examine and describe the meat and fish production processes.

Foer writes that he has dabbled with vegetarianism for years, always allowing his appetites to lead him back to eating animals. The best part of this book is his honesty about the fact that animals, when well prepared, taste good. He also cites the “forgetting” that we do in order to enjoy our food and disregard the sacrifice and the ugly truths of animal slaughter.

Not all vegetarians and vegans love the food they eat and hate the taste of meat. Indeed, vegetarians are often asked, if meat is so awful why do vegetarians eat food that is made to look and taste like meat?

The honest vegetarian may tell you, as this one will, that one’s craving for meat does not always dissipate. We can’t promise that we won’t crave meat or fish ever again. We won’t deny that it tastes good. We choose not to eat it despite our enduring cravings for it.

Foer allows for this in his chapter Words/Meaning. People may consider a vegetarian a sentimentalist for his choices, for his sympathy for the cruelty against animals and choice to not consume them.

But who is the sentimentalist in this scenario? When a meat-eater and a vegetarian go to a restaurant, both may be craving a hamburger. The vegetarian would like a burger but chooses not to have one, understanding the effects his choice has on animals, himself, and the environment. The meat-eater craves a burger, is a slave to his craving and has one despite any other considerations.

Anyone considering vegetarianism will find Eating Animals helpful. But it is so much more. It is a statement about our humanity or lack thereof when it comes to our treatment of fellow beings and our planet.

It is a case study in consumerism and capitalism. It is a window into the industry of animal slaughter – a window rarely open to the general public. It is one person’s personal journey that is reflective of our own in many ways.

Foer aims to understand the consequences of his choices and in doing so uncovers all aspects of the arguments for and against eating animals. He leaves it to the reader to use the knowledge gained to form their own opinion about factory farming, animal welfare, and environmental efficacy. In the end, whether Foer chooses to feed his child animals is something for you to discover when you read this important book.

Sandra Lucas was shy about sharing her writing until she participated in Brian Henry’s Exploring Creative Writing course. She enjoys writing fiction and non-fiction. Sandra has a background in landscape design and horticulture and is currently studying holistic nutrition. Through her work and her writing, she aims to cultivate interest in others in the areas of organic gardening and whole food, plant based cooking. Visit her blog here.

For information about Brian Henry's upcoming weekly creative writing courses, see here.
See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

“Blue Moon Rising,” a short story by Cathy Hendrix

2012-02-11T06:11:00.001-05:00

“Got you now!” a voice hissed in Rory’s ear. “You’re already dead.”

Rory’s eyes bugged out with the force of the arm locked around his neck. His head was wrenched back, cutting off his air and the cold prick of steel touched his throat.

“By the gods, Corin! You’re going to make the poor boy piss himself!” chuckled Jonan softly.

With a sudden jerk, Rory found himself free. But just for a moment. A hand snatched his shoulder-length hair at the back of his neck. He felt a sudden breeze as steel sliced through his hair like it was lamb’s wool.

“And now I’ve got your queue!”

Rory stumbled forward, feeling at the back of his neck where a sudden breath of cool air brought goosebumps to his skin.

“Corin, he’s not a Penkori savage!” continued the young knight, cousin to Prince Corin. “He doesn’t have a flaming queue. Now your servant boy looks a right fool with a chunk of his hair missing.”

Rory rubbed his neck. “Wha’ yer do that for?” He mumbled sullenly.

The young prince shoved him lightly and grinned. Even the semi-darkness did not diminish Prince Corin’s fair-haired good looks and charming smile. “Cease moping, Rory! You’re going on an adventure, just as I promised. Did you bring the supplies?”

“Yes, sire.” His master was right. This was going to be a night to remember. With a flutter of anticipation in his chest, Rory turned and picked up the dark lump at his feet that was the satchel of food. As he straightened, he glanced up at the night sky where a thousand stars stood out, knife sharp. The moon! How could he have forgotten? “Sire, are you sure it be a good idea to go tonight?”

“Going coward on us, boy?” Jonan was a shadow, detaching itself from deeper shadows as he stepped closer.

“I just mean, well, we ain’t s’posed to leave the castle grounds, let alone go beyond the wall. It be right dangerous out there. It be the – the Wilds!” He swallowed and his words dropped to a whisper. “And the blue moon’s rising tonight. It ain’t done that in a hundred years!”

A soft laugh sputtered out of Corin’s lips. “The blue moon!” he scoffed. “’Tis a natural occurrence. You don’t believe that superstitious Penkori hogshite, do you? Evil will rise from the earth to strike the living dead at the rising of the blue moon. Ooooh ooooh!”

Rory stepped back as the prince waggled his fingers in his face. “Th-they say it be true!”

“Who says that?” Corin’s voice hardened. “My father has forbidden such talk.”

“J-just people.”

“You mean the servants and townsfolk.” Corin’s stance relaxed. “A superstitious lot. Don’t you want to be one of my squires, Rory? A squire is above common servant-talk. I thought you were excited about tonight. I brought you a dagger.”

Rory`s eyes lit up as Corin produced the weapon, its blade gleaming softly in the starlight. Rory straightened his shoulders as he took the knife. “Oh, I am, sire. Thank you, sire.” Perhaps the prince was right. He was sixteen now, just like the prince and his cousin. Such foolishness was for children and those too ignorant to know better. Like the Penkori.

When the People of the Wilds, or the Penkori, as they called themselves, had first appeared in the hills on the opposite side of the river six months ago, they had sent emissaries to speak with the company of soldiers stationed at the border castle in Alanar. The Penkori leaders had pleaded with the commander to let their people come through the wall that, for long leagues, protected Alanar from the Wilds and soon, would protect it from far worse. For when the blue moon rose and began its hundred year reign, evil would walk the Wilds. Or so they claimed. But the commander had refused and sent a messenger to the king. When the king had arrived, he too had refused these People of the Wilds entry into their land, not trusting the horde of savages.

The Penkori had spoken of signs that would prove them right: the strong, swift river would dwindle to one tenth of its size; the immense flocks of ducks and geese and other river fowl would depart, and the forests would be infested with rats and carrion crows. King Rodric and his court had scoffed at their warnings. They had turned the savages away. As the time grew short, the Penkori had attacked out of desperation, but the wall had stood firm. Still, they had remained in their camps across the river.

Rory could hear King Rodric’s words echoed through his son. “The Penkori say we need to give them the protection of the wall - that its stone is somehow special and keeps the evil at bay. Phaw! It’s just a ruse to invade Alanar. If ever we let those savages inside our walls, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill us all - slit our throats as we slept!”

“A ruse, sire? But the signs –“

“Rivers change.”

“And the rats?”

“All forests have rats. You sound like an old woman!”

“Cor!” interrupted Jonan impatiently. “Are we going or not? I want my trophy. That blow-hard Willard dared us to do this in front of all the other noble boys. I’m not going to back down. No one will ever say that I lacked for courage! We have to find us a Penkori sentry and take his queue. So let’s move or it’ll be sunrise ‘fore we get there, not moonrise.”

It was the dead of night by the time the boys had snuck by the sentries at the wall and clambered down the sharp drop to the flat river basin. As they stepped onto the slightly spongy ground they stopped and looked back up the long hill. But the forest canopy was a blanket of darkness, obscuring the view of the wall as well as the night sky in that direction. Ahead, the mud flats stretched, dim in the light of the stars. A deeper blackness was the only sign of the river, a mere hint of its former strength. Beyond that, the ground rose again. Three pairs of eyes were drawn upward to the far ridge.

“Fire!” whispered Corin. “In amongst the trees. Do you see?”

“You were right,” said Jonan. “It’s the sentry fire.”

“So . . . You mean we needs to sneak up there, find a sentry, and cut off his queue?” asked Rory. “And then what? We say much thanks, Penkori and we`ll just be leaving now?”

“No, you idiot.” Corin laughed quietly.

Jonan sighed. “We have to sneak up and hit the sentry on the head so he’s unconscious, Rory. And so he can’t give the alarm.”

“That’s right,” growled Corin. “We don’t kill him. That way he has to live with the shame of losing his queue. You see? It sends them all a message. Shows them who they’re dealing with. Now, we’re wasting time. Come on.” Corin strode forward, leaving the two to catch him up.

“But won’t the sentry hear us?”

“That’s your job, Rory. Didn’t Corin tell you?”

Rory shook his head.

“You’re the diversion. You will distract the sentry while we sneak up behind.”

Rory sucked his teeth and watched as Jonan followed his cousin. The plan didn’t sound so good to him. Was this adventure really worth it? Rory had to remind himself of why he had agreed in the first place. Yes, he’d been excited at the thought of being a part of such a daring and courageous plan. But it would be the prince and his cousin who would get all the glory. And he knew that despite what the prince might say, he could never be a real squire. That was for the young noble boys as a first step to knighthood. But even as a special servant to the prince, he would gain much status and his stipend would go a long way to supporting his mother and Tuck, his younger brother. A sudden flurry of night wings above his head made him jump and he hurried after the others.

As he came up behind the pair, he heard them whispering, eagerly reciting their Knight’s Creed as he had heard them every day in the training yard for so many months.

“Duty, honour and courage be the Knight’s Creed!

The knight’s duty be to king and country!

Unfailing courage must keep him on the path of honour!

By the gods of heaven and earth, so do we pledge!”

Rory felt only too keenly, the unseen wall that stood between him and the two young knights. How he wished to be a part of that noble brotherhood. But being ‘squire’ to the prince was the best he could ever hope for. And more than most boys like him could even dream of. He’d show the prince that he had courage too! He could be their diversion. He wasn’t sure exactly how, but hopefully something would come to mind.

Soft muck sucked at their boots and oozed water in the tracks they left. But luckily as they reached the old river bottom, the ground turned stony. The water itself only came up to their knees at the deepest point. However, the crossing left them feeling exposed and vulnerable. They hurried forward in a crouch, trying not to splash too loudly.

“We need to be across and under cover before the moon rises,” whispered Corin. “Otherwise we’ll be spotted for sure.”

“Sire, the moon – “

“Shut up, Rory. I don’t want to hear any more idiotic drivel about the moon.”

On the far side, the river had cut deep earthen banks that overhung the riverbed, as tall as eight feet in some spots. Rory looked anxiously behind him, across the river and up the ridge to the wall that now seemed a lifetime away. But his heart tripped in his chest. While they had been intent on crossing undetected, the sly moon had risen silently behind them. He shivered, unable to look away. Like the sightless eye of a cave bat, the silver-blue orb, twice as large as the old yellow moon, hung ominously above the battlements and bathed everything in a sickly, blue sheen. Rory’s mouth went dry. He suddenly realized that the others had left him behind and he hurried to catch up.

He found his companions standing in the ankle-deep water, studying the river bank. Thick, twisted tree roots resembled the pale, bony fingers of long-buried corpses. They plunged out of the soil and into the black muck. The toe of Rory’s boot caught on something and, with a stifled cry, he fell face forward. Under his hand, something ropey and slimy squirmed. A snake? He scrambled, spluttering to his feet.

“For the gods’ sake, be quiet!” hissed Corin as he hauled Rory up by his collar and heaved him towards the bank. “The Penkori may be savages, but they’re not deaf!”

“Corin!” From the dark shadows ahead came Jonan’s choked cry. Leaves danced and whispered secretively in a sudden gust of wind and the moon’s rays broke through the shadows, lighting up the bank and Jonan’s pale face. Rory and Corin froze, unable to believe what they saw.

Pale knobby tree roots were slowly but relentlessly writhing around Jonan’s ankles and shins and creeping up his thighs. One had wound itself around his throat, pulling him up tightly against the bank. The boy had a knife in his hand and was madly slashing at the roots while trying to wriggle free. But as the one around his throat tightened, Jonan dropped the knife and tugged desperately at the sinewy root with his fingers, tearing and scratching in vain.

“Help me!” Jonan wheezed.

“Tis the moon!” Rory gasped, frozen to the spot.

With a yell, Corin unsheathed his sword and attacked the villainous gray ropes. “I’m here, cousin!” he said, between gritted teeth. “I’ll get you out of this.”

Forcing himself to act, Rory pulled out his knife and began sawing at the root that threatened to crush Jonan’s windpipe. But like a whip out of nowhere, a root flicked, stinging Rory’s hand and making him drop the knife. In half a heartbeat it had disappeared into the water. What was that? A sudden movement around his leg had caught his eye. Silently, unobtrusively, a root was twining itself around his own ankle. He cried out and frantically jerked his leg. Oddly, the root suddenly loosened and Rory lost his footing, landing on his back with a splash, in the deep shadow of an overhanging tree limb.

In the next instant, a dark form brandishing a glowing stick landed in their midst. Rory watched, speechless as Corin was shoved unceremoniously out of the way. The shadow began poking at the roots that now covered so much of Jonan that he looked like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Where the glowing end of the stick touched the roots, they writhed angrily, emitting a shrill hissing sound and the air was filled with an acrid reek of burning.

“Get up onto the bank, unless you want to end up like this!” barked the stranger.

But Rory was unable to make his feet move as he watched the roots suddenly constrict around Jonan. There was a horrible snapping sound and Jonan’s head, now almost completely entwined, was viciously jerked to the side. Like a milkweed pod on a broken stem, his head lolled forward, bobbing once before stilling. Rory swallowed, fighting his belly’s reaction to heave everything up. Amidst the roaring in his ears, he heard Corin shouting and the low growl of the man.

There was a flurry of splashing and scrabbling, and Rory watched, dumbstruck, as Corin was hauled up the bank, his arm clenched tightly in the man’s fist. In the pale blue light of the moon, the pair disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Something wriggled under Rory and he jumped up with a yell and leaped for the bank.

Having no recollection of climbing up the roots, Rory found himself standing on firm ground, the river below him. Owl-eyed and with pounding heart, Rory cast around in every direction. He cocked his head, listening. That way! His feet raced up the hill in pursuit, light and shadow flying around him as he tried to keep the dark figures in sight, unwilling to stay one moment longer at the river’s edge. Alone. Save for Jonan. And the roots.

Rory had followed Corin and the man upwards to the top of the wooded ridge till finally they had stopped at this place – a sentry post that, in daylight would command a good view of the riverbed and the wall. Fire, warm and welcoming, crackled in the clearing – the same fire that the three of them had seen from the other side of the river. Around the perimeter, smoke climbed into the air from more of the glowing sticks that protruded from the ground, leaving the same sharp, bitter stench in Rory’s nostrils as before. On his stomach, Rory now watched and listened from under the low branches of a fir tree, trying to keep his pounding heart from giving his hiding place away.

Corin sat shivering in his sodden clothes, hands trussed behind him, looking miserable and, Rory thought not a little scared. The Penkori had relieved the prince of his sword and it gleamed in the firelight as the sentry admired the fine workmanship before stowing it in his satchel. Rory’s hand went to his belt and he suddenly remembered losing his own knife at the river.

The sentry turned back and studied his captive. “If you would stop trying to escape, foolish boy, you wouldn`t need to be bound. The evil will pass now that the moon has set.”

To Rory’s ears, the man’s speech had an odd inflection. He was extremely tall and broad, clad in leather and fur. High cheekbones and the black queue that snaked down his back left no doubt that he was Penkori. He looked every bit a savage and dangerous man.

“I am sorry for your friend.” His breath misted as he spoke in the dampness of the pre-dawn air. “But there was nothing I could have done. Even with the Halla fire. It was too late.”

Did he mean the glowing sticks? Rory wondered.

Corin said nothing. After a short pause, the man continued. “What were you trying to do? Two boys from across the river. And the blue moon risen. Did someone put you up to this foolishness?”

Rory sucked in his breath. Two? Did the sentry not know about him?

The man shook his head and snorted. “You made enough noise, even in the middle of the river, to wake a bear in winter. Do they not teach young warriors these things in your country?”

Corin’s head snapped up. His eyes narrowed. “Do not insult me, savage. The Knights of Alaran have no equal! And I am the - . . . a knight!”

The man’s lips twitched. “Well, then, knight, I had better make sure you are properly bound, for my own safety.” He squatted beside Corin and shoved him onto his side. From his belt, the Penkori drew some rope and began to tie Corin’s ankles.

“Y-you savages would mur-murder us all, given the chance!” Corin’s quivering voice no longer held his usual bravado, with his face pressed into the dirt.

“Is that what you think?” The sentry sat back on his heels, his countenance darkening. “That we are murderers and savages?” He paused, then spat in the dirt beside Corin’s face. “You know nothing. We are herders and hunters. We respect the land and its bounty that the Good Mother has bestowed upon us. We kill if we need - to eat, to survive, but we do not murder. That goes against our sacred laws. All we have asked of your king is that he give us the protection of the wall.”

Rory thought hard. Could he believe this man? Everything he had ever heard about the Penkori spoke of their barbaric savagery. Could they have been wrong? Still, he had to do something. Rescue the prince. But how? He’d lost his only weapon. Then his fingers closed around the smooth, cold surface of a rock and Jonan’s words echoed in his mind. We have to sneak up and hit the sentry on the head so he’s unconscious, Rory.

A grunt exploded from the Penkori’s lips as the rock smashed down. Blood! Dark. Shiny. It dribbled down the side of the sentry’s face and turned the edge of the rock black as the man slumped into the dirt. Rory stared at the unconscious body at his feet, surprised at how easy it had been.

“Quick! Untie me!” hissed Corin.

Rory pulled the knife from the man’s belt and quickly slit the ropes.

“Give me that!” The prince snatched the knife from Rory’s hand. He stood and looked down at the sentry, his eyes narrowed. “Foolish boy, eh? Who’s the fool now? You pigpiss!”

The knife glinted in the light of the fire as Corin thrust it into the man’s back. Once. Twice. Rory gasped and stepped back. He watched, stunned, as Corin grabbed the queue at the base of the man’s neck and pulled. With a quick swish of the blade, the queue was in Corin’s hand and the man’s head flopped into the dirt for the second time.

“What – why –?”

Corin’s eyes were shards of steel. “He’s the enemy. He deserved to die. And besides, I needed to avenge Jonan’s death.”

“But he saved your life,” croaked Rory. “He tried to save Jonan. I thought we was just going to hit him over the head!”

Corin’s chest heaved in and out, his nostrils flared. “Idiot! You didn’t believe anything he said, did you? He was going to take me to his camp! Torture me too, most likely! They say those savages torture their prisoners for days, until they beg for death.” Corin’s voice quivered and he pointed an accusatory finger at the dead man. “Besides. That - that savage killed Jonan!”

Rory shook his head. “It were the roots! The roots killed Lord Jonan – and the moon. Not him! He didn’t act like no savage.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” Corin took a menacing step toward Rory. “He took us by surprise and killed my lord cousin. I killed the brute and this is my proof!” He shook the queue at Rory. It wriggled like a snake in Corin’s hand. Like one of the roots, thought Rory, with a mental shudder. “Say it! Say that he killed Jonan! By all the gods, swear it!”

Rory stared at Corin for several heartbeats, then whispered, “All right. H – He killed Jonan.”

“Swear it on your soul!”

“I – I swear.”

“Remember that. On your soul! Now come on. Someone might come. And the sun will be up soon.” Corin quickly retrieved his sword from the sentry’s pack, then grabbed Rory by the upper arm and pulled him into the woods. By the time they reached the river bank, dawn had turned the eastern sky above the battlements a pearl gray. The boys looked along the river’s edge. But there was no sign of Jonan, although the roots seemed to be thicker, protrude further, in one particular spot. Rory did not want to look too closely.

They made the crossing without incident and stopped briefly on the far side. They turned back to stare at the far bank, now fully visible as the first rays of the sun peeked over the battlements and turned the mist that clung to the trees’ topmost branches to gold. And the forest slumbered, still and silent, keeping her secrets.

“Remember, Rory,” Corin said softly, his gaze fixed on the far riverbank. “You swore on your soul.”

***

“Don’t I just wish I could be a noble knight!” sighed the sandy haired Tuck as he stood by the stable door. Tearing his eyes away from the scene in the training ground where the young knights were finishing their sword practice for the day, he turned to eye Rory who was grooming the prince’s dapple gray stallion. Rory looked up briefly. He followed his younger brother’s gaze, outside to where the youths stood at attention, the tips of their swords planted in the dirt as they recited the Knight’s Creed. The weapons-master’s bark reached every corner of the yard, even into the stable.

And the youths continued their recitation, “Unfailing courage must keep him on the path of honour!” came their unified voices.

“And look at you in your fine tunic, Rory,” continued Tuck. “Right kingly! You - a squire to the prince! Who’d’ve thought such a thing possible!”

Rory raised an eyebrow. “Work is work and yours ain’t getting done, mooning over being a knight and such nonsense. Them boots won’t polish themselves, Tuck.”

“Perchance I will go on an adventure one day and do something grand and noble like you.” Tuck returned to the bale of hay where his chore awaited him.

Rory grimaced. Grand and noble? Like the Knight’s Creed? Rory had stood beside Corin and faced the king and Jonan’s father, the king’s brother. He had kept his vow and corroborated Corin’s story. Predictably, after the week of mourning for the Lord Jonan, the prince had been punished for disobeying the king’s law by going beyond the wall, and made to wear battle mail over a horse-hair shirt waking and sleeping for three days.

But even so, Corin had kept his promise to Rory, albeit with a warning glint in his eye. He had been very generous, making Rory an unofficial squire and presenting him with handsome clothes. One tunic in particular was richly embroidered with silk, to be worn when he served his prince at banquets. Even more, Corin had given him a magnificent dagger that held a small, but flawless red carnelian in its silver pommel, to replace the one he had lost. Its worth was beyond anything Rory had ever imagined having. So why did Rory feel so unhappy? No, that wasn’t the word, he realized. Shame. That’s what ate at his heart.

Rory’s hand paused in its brushing of the stallion’s flank and he sighed. Across his vision sped flashes of a young man, shrouded in ghostly tendrils; deep shadows and sickly blue moonlight; firelight reflecting in the glazed eyes of a dead warrior.

He shook himself out of his disturbing thoughts when he realized Tuck was saying something more.

“. . . Penkori will be taken by surprise. The army leaves at dawn on the morrow. And Prince Corin will ride beside his father.” Tuck gestured excitedly with his polishing cloth. “Did ye hear? The king be havin’ the queue gilded, right after him and the army get back from havin’ their own sort of vengeance for the Lord Jonan. There won’t be a Penkori left alive for a hundred leagues! Gods! I’d give my very soul to be a knight - be there when they kill those blood-thirsty savages.”

Your soul? thought Rory, staring with unseeing eyes at the brush in his hand. Is anything worth that? And what of a man’s life? What of thousands? Women and children as well. Taken by surprise, they would all die, with no one to help them. No one to warn them. And then, as if he had been plunged into a mountain lake, the thought came to him with icy clarity and he knew what he had to do.

***

There was no moon that night. Gray clouds hung ponderously low and a wet drizzle had already soaked through Rory’s wool cape. He stood on the spongy ground, looking across the river and upwards to the ridge where a fire winked between darkly swaying branches. What if the Penkori didn’t believe him? What if they were just as savage as he’d always been told? No, he told himself. He didn’t believe that. Not anymore.

Rory tried to swallow but could get no spit in his dry mouth. No one had told him that courage felt a lot like being sick to your stomach. Behind him was everything he held dear in the world and with the next step, there would be no turning back. His mother had cried when he’d explained and given her the dagger. The money from selling it would keep her and Tuck fed for a year. Possibly two.

Rory took a deep breath and, without looking back, stepped into the river.

*

Cathy Hendrix is a recently retired elementary French teacher. She's relatively new to story writing, although she has had much oral practice telling bedtime stories to her children over the years. It was her daughter’s continuous requests for “Princess Stephanie stories” that finally pushed her into the writing process. That and being hugely inspired by fantasy novelists such as Tolkien and CS Lewis, Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan and more recently, George RR Martin. In December, Cathy gave a reading of “Blue Moon Rising” at CJ's Cafe.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Murder Most Dreadful by Jacqueline Stirrup

2012-02-10T07:02:00.000-05:00

Detective Sergeant Alfie Beckett of the London constabulary considers Mrs. Wren Coatsmith an unlikely sleuth. He's quite sure that having her help him in a murder investigation isn’t proper, the more so as the woman is so dashed attractive.

Alfie doesn’t know the half of it. Wren is a killer herself and disposed of her husband’s body in the Thames. Wren just hopes Alfie doesn't become too curious about her ex-husband. Indeed, if Alfie's going to investigate her, she hopes it will be her womanly attractions that interest him, not her dark past.

Author Jacqueline Stirrup is a member of the Blank Page Writers in Gravenhurst. (That's in Muskoka, for anyone who's weak on Ontario geography.)

Murder Most Dreadful is available from Amazon.com here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Bob McDevitt joins Jenny Brown Associates

2012-02-09T08:27:00.001-05:00

Jenny Brown Associates
33 Argyle Place
Edinburgh, UK EH9 1JT
http://www.jennybrownassociates.com/

Bob McDevitt, previously publisher of Hachette Scotland, has joined leading Scottish literary agency Jenny Brown Associates. McDevitt is based in the agency's primary office in Edinburgh, though the company has also established a second office in Corbridge, Northumberland, where fiction and sports writing specialist Mark Stanton is now based, as the agency develops "new opportunities in the north of England".

Bob McDevitt is looking for clients. His areas of interest are popular commercial fiction, crime writing, and non-fiction. Submit to: bob@jennybrownassociates.com

Mark Stanton (Stan) is also open to submissions – both novels and non-fiction. (Please, no children’s and no poetry or short stories.) Submit to: stan@jennybrownassociates.com

Submissions
"We read all submissions made to us in order of receipt. Please note that we will only respond to submissions if we wish to read more. If you have not heard back from us within eight weeks then you can assume that we do not feel that the work is right for our agency."

For fiction: send the first 50 pages (no more) and a synopsis in a single document, with a covering letter (see below).

For non-fiction: email a proposal and short example of the proposed work—a sample chapter, for instance. Please include a short note on the competing or comparable literature stating, where possible, author, title, publisher and publication date. It would be helpful to have an overview of possible marketing outlets and a biographical note outlining your background, training and experience.

All submissions: Please write a covering letter in the body of the email giving an account of the background of the book and your writing career to date. If you have been referred to the agency by a publishing or personal contact then make this clear. If you have had previous correspondence with an agent at Jenny Brown Associates, mention this. The agency would appreciate knowing if your project has been sent to or is being considered by other agents or publishers.

Attach your work to the email in a document saved according to the following naming convention:
date of submission as dd.mm.yy_surname_firstname_title of book.doc
For example: 02.04.09_MacKenzie_Jules_mynovel.doc

Full submission guidelines here.

Brian Henry will lead "How to Get Published" workshops on Saturday, May 21, in Newmarket with Meghan Macdonald of Transatlantic Literary Agency (see here) and on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Writers wanted for The Jewish Tribune, FeatherLit, Echolocation, and Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine

2012-02-08T06:50:00.001-05:00

The Jewish Tribune (http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/) is Canada’s largest Jewish weekly newspaper. More than 62,000 copies of the paper are distributed across Canada each week, going to Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Windsor, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Hamilton, and Halifax.

The Tribune provides its readers with timely news of concern to the grassroots Jewish community in Canada. And while we carry our share of features, book/film/theatre reviews, arts/culture, and sports articles, we focus on news reports from our correspondents and news services to ensure our readers get the real story – and the story behind the story – from a Jewish perspective.

The Tribune also carries insightful opinion and analysis pieces, both from internationally known pundits such as Daniel Pipes and Canadians such as Brian Henry. From the political issues of the Middle East to the hate crimes and antisemitic incidents in Canada and the rest of the world, the Jewish Tribune has you covered.

If you’re a freelance writer available for daytime assignments, contact Norm Gordner, Jewish Tribune editor, at: ngordner@jewishtribune.ca

FeatherLit (http://featherlit.com/) is a new standard in literary erotica, publishing sharp, white-hot writing about sex and sexuality. Every month we’ll release a flock of great writing for your pleasure. Launching Valentine’s Day 2012. Now open for submissions of original work from 5 to 500 words. Fiction, poetry, memoir or something in between, we only discriminate on grounds of quality, not content or genre.

Echolocation (http://echolocationmag.wordpress.com/) seeks submissions of poetry, fiction, drama, creative non-fiction, interviews with writers, review essays on recent and forthcoming literary works, and critical essays on any aspect of contemporary writing. Fiction should be a maximum of 10 pages; for poetry, gives us 1 to 5 poems. Payment: one contributors' copy. Full submission information here. Deadline: February 29, 2012.

Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine (http://www.quillspoetry.com/) is an annual publication for Canadian poetry. Poems can be any length, subject or style. Please limit submissions to 3 maximum per year. Send your name, address or city and confirm you are a Canadian Citizen. Include a short, 40-word biography written in 3rd person starting with the author’s name. We encourage submissions from all poets; young or old, published or unpublished. No one is charged to submit and no submissions are paid. Deadline: March 1st.

Also, Quills now has a new section called Lust. Please submit erotic poetry with “Lust Submission” in the subject line. Quills submission guidelines here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write a Bestseller workshop, Sat, May 26, Gravenhurst in Muskoka

2012-02-07T07:17:00.001-05:00

How to Write a Bestseller
Saturday, May 26
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Gravenhurst Centennial Centre, 101 Centennial Drive, Gravenhurst (Map here.)

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published; some – such as Kelley Armstrong – have even landed on the New York Times bestseller's list.

Fee: $32.74 + 13% hst = $37 paid in advance
or $35.40 + 13% hst = $40 if you wait to pay at the door.
To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Writers of the Future science fiction contest

2012-02-06T12:13:00.002-05:00

This is a perpetual free contest for aspiring science fiction writers with a top prize each year of $5,000. Established in 1983 by L. Ron Hubbard (science fiction author and founder of Scientology), the contest claims, with considerable credibility, to be "the most respected and significant forum for new talent in all aspects of speculative fiction."

No entry fee is required, and all rights in the story remain the property of the author. All types of science fiction, fantasy and dark fantasy are welcome. No poetry or stories for children.

Entries may not have been previously published in professional media. To be eligible, entries must be works of prose, up to 17,000 words in length.

The Contest is open only to those who have not had professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium. Professional publication is deemed to be payment, and at least 5,000 copies, or 5,000 hits.

There shall be three cash prizes in each quarter: a First Prize of $1,000, a Second Prize of $750, and a Third Prize of $500, in U.S. dollars or the recipient's locally equivalent amount. In addition, at the end of the year the four First Place winners will have their entries rejudged, and a Grand Prize winner shall be determined and receive an additional $5,000. All winners will also receive trophies or certificates.

Four deadlines a year: December 31, March 31, June 30, and September 30.
Winners and finalists may be included in the annual Writers of the Future Anthology.
There's also an Illustrators of the Future contest for new and amateur science fiction and fantasy artists.

Home page here. FAQs here. Complete contest rules here.

For information about all the annual writing contests in Canada, order the Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar. Just $23.50 including all taxes and shipping. For details email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
More about the Contest Calendar here.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

"We're funding political extremists," opinion & analysis with some history thrown in, by Brian Henry

2012-02-05T08:58:00.013-05:00

Beautiful house in old Katamon

In Canada, almost no one supports those who hold extreme political views – they comprise perhaps 0.1 per cent of the population. But despite this near total lack of popular support, extremists continue to thrive.

Why? Because universities and granting agencies give them money.

The latest example of this comes from Queen’s and Simon Fraser universities, where professors Dorit Naaman and Dana Olwan have received a $223,000 grant to set up a multimedia installation in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Qatamon (also spelled Katamon).

Before the establishment of Israel, Qatamon was a wealthy Christian Arab neighbourhood. However, in 1947, the UN mandated the creation of two Palestinian states – one Jewish, the other Arab. The Jewish community accepted this deal, but the Arabs rejected it. Instead, Arab militias and armies from the surrounding Arab countries attacked the new state of Israel, intending to kill it at birth.

During the war that followed, Israeli forces captured Qatamon, and most of the neighbourhood’s residents fled – mainly to Beirut, Damascus and Alexandria, cities where they used to vacation. Those who remained became Israeli citizens, as happened throughout the territories Israel controlled.

In 1948, the Arab legion controlled San Simon Monastery
in Katamon, a strategic position on a hill overlooking
Jewish neighbourhoods. An Israeli force led by Yitzhak

Rabin wrested control of the site from the Arabs, at a cost

of 100 casualties (dead & wounded) out of a force of 120.

Rabin later became Prime Minister of Israel and winner of

the the Nobel Peace Prize.

However, the Jordanian army captured the old city of Jerusalem, including the Jewish Quarter, and the rest of the West Bank. The Jordanians expelled all Jews from their territory. A thousand or more of these refugees moved into Qatamon, and it has been a predominantly (though not exclusively) Jewish neighbourhood ever since.

That’s the history. Here’s what Dana Olwan said about her $223,000 multimedia project in the Queen’s University Journal:

“It’s important to understand that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict hasn’t ended yet.... Palestinians are being dispossessed from Jerusalem right now through the building of apartheid walls. Understanding and challenging the contemporary nature of the occupation is a key aim of this project.”

Notice how extreme Olwan’s language. The "apartheid wall" is a security barrier Israel built to keep out suicide bombers. It's actually mostly a fence, but is a wall where needed to prevent Palestinian snipers from firing at Israelis as they walk down the street.

Notice also that Olwan’s language is entirely political. There’s nothing academic about her project – no spirit of inquiry or even pretence at open-mindedness. It’s purely a propaganda exercise.

The project’s aim, she said, is to challenge “the occupation,” which to Olwan’s mind includes Qatamon, even though this neighbourhood has been part of Israel since its founding.

Professors Olwan and Naaman have long been involved in anti-Israel politics. They both support Israel Apartheid Week, an annual campus event intended to exclude Israelis from humanity, and have both been speakers at Apartheid Week at Queen’s.

By 2004, the Palestinian terror war was
losing its effectiveness, as the large
majority of attacks were prevented. The
terrorists had tried using women as
bombers, but they were being caught as
regularly as the men. So the al-Aqsa
Martyrs' Brigades tried a new tactic:
using a child as a human bomb. They
sent Hussam Abdo (pictured), a
mentally delayed 14-year-old, on a
suicide attack. Fortunately he was
stopped at a checkpoint. "I don't want
to blow up," he told Israeli soldiers,
who helped him remove his bombs
without harm.

For her part, Professor Naaman has trouble grasping that terrorism is a bad thing. She signed a petition supporting Tali Fahima, an Israeli convicted of aiding Zakariya Zubeidi, who was a chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades during the height of the terror war against Israel.

In more recent years, Zubeidi has put away his bombs in return for amnesty from Israel and has even applied to enter Israel for medical care. Because he’s abandoned violence, Tali Fahima now calls Zubeida a “whore” and has transferred her allegiance to Raed Salah, an unreconstructed Jew-hater and a leader of the extremist Islamic Movement.

In an apparent bid for the useful idiot of the year award, Professor Naaman describes Fahima as merely “seeking dialogue with Palestinians.”

Professor Naaman also wrote a learned paper titled "In the Name of the Nation: Images of Palestinian and Israeli Women Fighters."

In this paper, Naaman puzzles over why Israeli women soldiers are “considered a sign of progress, equality and modernity” while Palestinian women suicide bombers are considered “monsters.”

To Naaman, this reflects bias, a “serious cultural discrepancy.” She’s unable to grasp the difference between a soldier who protects the innocent and a suicide bomber who deliberately murders men, women and children.

As for Professor Olwan, she believes that Israel’s creation “was legitimized through racist Zionist narratives” and is dedicated to reversing that original sin and turning the entire land into a Arab state.

In 2008, Olwan was a speaker at the Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood conference at York University. Although dressed up as an academic conference, its purpose was political, aimed at promoting a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conference – a solution that replaces Israel with a majority Palestinian state.

Like Olwan’s and Naaman’s proposed propaganda exercise in Jerusalem, the conference at York was also funded by me and you through our taxes. And that is what I really object to.

Why is the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council giving Olwan and Naaman $223,000 of our money to create what looks to be pure propaganda?

All I ask is for universities and granting agencies to distinguish between academic projects and propaganda exercises. If they did, the extremists would disappear for lack of funding and there would be more money for scholars genuinely interested in expanding human knowledge. It would be a win-win all around.

Read more about political activism on campus lightly funded by our taxes here, here, and here. Read more of Brian's opinion pieces here.

This article was originally published (in a slightly shorter version) in the January 31, 2012, issue of the Jewish Tribune.

John Wiley & Sons Canada always in the market for nonfiction

2012-02-03T16:42:00.002-05:00

John Wiley & Sons is an international publisher with offices in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Singapore, and Australia. Wiley’s Professional/Trade business produces nonfiction books in all media for the professional, business, and general interest consumer markets.

"Our primary fields of interest are business, technology, architecture, culinary, psychology, education, travel, health, religion, consumer reference, and general interest.

"The Professional and Trade business also includes the following Wiley brands: For Dummies, Frommer’s, Frommer’s Unlimited, Jossey-Bass, Bloomberg Press, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Better Homes and Gardens, Webster’s New World, Sybex, WROX, Pfeiffer, CliffsNotes, Visual, Howell Book House, Fisher Investments Press, J.K. Lasser, Capstone, and Wrightbooks."

Proposals
To pursue a project idea, send your curriculum vitae and a proposal including:
• The proposed title and a description of the topic or product
• An explanation of why the product is needed by the marketplace
• The intended primary market and secondary markets
• A profile of the typical reader / user
• A description of why the topic is important, and/or any problems the product can help solve
• A review of competitive works and how the proposed product differs
• The table of contents (if available)
• A partial or complete manuscript
• Reviews of the author's previous works

Mail proposals and manuscripts to:
John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Professional and Trade Division
Editorial Assistant
6045 Freemont Boulevard
Mississauga, ON L5R 4J3

Full submission guidelines here.

Brian Henry will lead "How to Get Published" workshops on Saturday, May 21, in Newmarket with Meghan Macdonald of Transatlantic Literary Agency (see here) and on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Erin Harris of Irene Skolnick Literary Agency seeks literary fiction, upmarket commercial fiction, YA, etc.

2012-02-02T15:13:00.001-05:00

Irene Harris

Irene Skolnick Literary Agency2095 Broadway
Suite 307
New York, NY 10023
http://skolnickagency.com/

Erin Harris is an agent at the Irene Skolnick Literary Agency. Erin is looking for literary novels with compelling plots and international settings; literary thrillers and mysteries (She’d love to find the next Tana French!); noirs (especially starring headstrong female protagonists); and YA and middle grade novels that transport her to magical places.

She represents (among others): David Yezzi, executive editor of The New Criterion and author of the forthcoming biography Anthony Hecht: Poet and the Age (St. Martin’s Press); Rosalie Knecht, the English language translator of Cesar Aira’s The Seamstress and the Wind (New Directions); Bryan Furuness, author of the forthcoming novel, The Lost Episodes of Review Bryson (Dzanc); and Carla Power, a Times Magazine contributor and former Newsweek correspondent.

Submissions
Query Erin at submissions@skolnickagency.com
Your query should include: a description of your manuscript or book proposal, your contact information, and your author bio. In the author bio, be sure to inform us of any previous publications, awards, professional and/or academic affiliations, and media appearances. In addition, please paste the first ten pages of your manuscript or book proposal into the body of your email.

Brian Henry will lead "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshops in London, Ontario, on April 21 (see here) and in Oakville on June 2 (see here).

Brian will also lead "How to Get Published" workshops on Saturday, May 21, in Newmarket with Meghan Macdonald of Transatlantic Literary Agency (see here) and on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write Great Dialogue workshops, Saturday, May 5, Kitchener

2012-02-01T08:26:00.001-05:00

“How to Write Great Dialogue”
~ the writer’s most important tool ~
Saturday, May 5
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Forest Heights Library, 251 Fischer-Hallman Road, Kitchener. Map here.

Accessible to beginners and meaty enough for experienced writers, this workshop will show you how to use dialogue to make your stories more dynamic and dramatic. Whether you’re writing fiction or memoir, you need to be able to write great dialogue and need to know how to mix your dialogue and narrative so that your characters come alive. Come to this workshop and learn both the basics and the best tricks of the trade so that you'll never write a lifeless scene again.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Fee: $38.94 + hst = $44 paid in advance
or $42.48 + hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve a spot now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Get Published workshop with guest literary agent Meghan Macdonald, Sat, May 12, Newmarket

2012-01-31T06:57:00.000-05:00

"Instructions for an Inexperienced Lover"
by Amanda Leduc, one of Meghan's clients

An editor & an agent tell all
Saturday, May 12
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Newmarket Community Centre and Lion's Hall, Hall #2, 200 Doug Duncan Drive, Newmarket (Map here.)

If you've ever dreamed of becoming a published author, this workshop is for you. We’ll cover everything from getting started to getting an agent, from getting your short pieces published to finding a book publisher, from writing a query letter to writing what the publishers want. Bring your questions. Come and get ready to be published!

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Guest speaker Meghan Macdonald is an agent with Transatlantic Literary Agency. Established in 1993 as a Toronto agency specializing in children’s literature, TLA has broadened into an international agency with offices in Canada, the United States and the Netherlands. In addition to its children’s authors, TLA now has more than seventy critically acclaimed, award-winning authors of fiction and non-fiction for adults.

After returning to Canada from the UK in 2009, Meghan joined TLA’s Toronto office as a administrative assistant and project co-ordinator and has more recently begun building her own list of authors. Her particular interests include urban fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction (that has been impeccably researched but is still a fictional narrative), and topical exposé non-fiction that is persuasive and/or a sustained polemic.

She is also interested in scholarly non-fiction, particularly historical treatments, that are intelligent but accessible without being simplistic (examples are Augustus by John Buchan, Apocalypse by Neil Faulkner, The Sea Kingdoms by Alistair Moffat, and Sailing The Wine-Dark Sea by Thomas Cahill).

Meghan Macdonald

Meghan’s clients include Zander Sherman, Danila Botha, Kevin Hardcastle, Amanda Leduc, Suzanne North, and Christine Fischer Guy.

More on Transatlantic Literary Agency here.

Special Option: Participants are invited to bring a draft of a query letter you might use to interest an agent or publisher in your book. You don’t need to bring anything, but if you do, 3 copies could be helpful.

Fee: $38.94 plus hst = $44 paid in advance
or $42.48 plus hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The New Quarterly annual contests for occasional verse and short stories

2012-01-30T09:25:00.003-05:00

Hello, Brian.
Firstly, we'd like to thank you for posting our contests on Quick Brown Fox last year. Your blog was our largest source of contest entrants (at least of those who chose to answer the question). We would greatly appreciate it if you could include our contests on your site once again. (Note that the deadlines have changed.)
Best regards,
Humberto Gutierrez
The New Quarterly
P.S. Your readers should also check out our regular submission guidelines here.

The Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest
$1,000 for one glorious poem

Sponsored by TNQ editor Kim Jernigan and family in celebration of the man who sparked their love of poetry, this contest is for poems written in response to an occasion, personal or public – poems of gratitude or grief, poems that celebrate or berate, poems that make of something an occasion or simply mark one.

Another $1,000 in prize money will be distributed as the judges fancy. The best of what we see will be published in The New Quarterly at our usual rates, and posted on our website. Deadline: Postmarked February 28, 2012. Entry fee: $40 for up to 2 unpublished poems, $5 each for additional poems. Submissions include a one-year subscription to The New Quarterly. Full contest details here.

The Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award
Sponsored by the St. Jerome's University English Dept.
Winning Story: $1,000

For a work of short fiction by a Canadian writer in the early stages. We define a writer in the early stages as someone who has not yet published a first story collection or novel.

Deadline: May 28, 2012. Entry Fee: $40 per submission (includes a one-year subscription to The New Quarterly). There is no word limit; all submissions are judged blind. Though there is only one prize, all submissions will be considered for publication. Full contest details here.

For information about all the annual writing contests in Canada, order the Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar. Just $23.50 including all taxes and shipping. For details email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

More about the Contest Calendar here.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, reviewed by Bonnie Bouwman

2012-01-29T08:22:00.000-05:00

Random House, Canada, Trade Paperback, 688 pages, $22

Approximately three percent of all live births are twins. My own fascination with twins began in grade one when I encountered Tyler and Kyle, identical boys who spoke their own unique language which neither the teacher nor any of us were able to comprehend. In order to communicate with them, we resorted to body language. It was somewhat effective, but we knew that we singles were really outsiders, and frequently the butt of Tyler and Kyle’s private jokes. We called them by one name: the twins. Though individuals, they functioned as two halves of one person; simply put, they were, intriguing.

I was reminded of Tyler and Kyle while reading Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese’s first novel about Shiva and Marion Stone, conjoined twin sons of an Indian nun, who dies during their birth, and the British surgeon who disowns them. This gripping work tells how these boys, even though separated, first by surgery, then by continents and oceans, remain inexplicably interconnected throughout their lives until their destinies finally and irrevocably collide and remain united forever.

Verghese, himself a medical doctor and professor at Stanford, has given his readers fascinating medical information in language lay people can understand. There is the gynecologist's rule for estimating dilation: how wide – lime, lemon, orange or grapefruit? For the men, there's a detailed, step-by-step description of a vascectomy – don't try this at home folks! And for anyone who has faced life and death in a hospital setting there is the Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not operate on the day of the patient’s death.

Cutting for Stone is a story full of detailed description, vivid imagery and characters you will come to know, admire and loathe all in the same breath. Verghese weaves his plot from beginning to end as intricately and delicately as Thomas Stone’s nine fingers perform the ultimate redeeming surgery that matters most. This memorable novel will keep you enthralled and leave you with the certain knowledge that "fixing what is broken is indeed the task of a lifetime." I can assure you that it will leave you eagerly awaiting Verghese’s next novel.

*

Bonnie Bouwman has spent a lifetime observing people, a passion that is reflected in her creative memoir and short story writing. After decades of teaching children, she has begun to hone her own writing skills through creative writing courses. She is an avid book club member and proud library card holder. She is married to her husband Jake. They have five grown children and thirteen grandchildren, a close-knit, loving, but noisy bunch. Along with Virginia Wolf she believes that in order to write fiction, every woman needs a room of her own.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Grain Magazine's 24th annual Short Grain writing contest for poetry and prose

2012-01-27T13:31:00.002-05:00

Grain, the journal of eclectic writing, is a literary quarterly that publishes engaging, eclectic, and challenging writing and art by Canadian and international writers and artists. Grain is published by the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild and appears in Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

In the last three years alone, writings published in Grain have been finalists for the Writers' Trust / McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize, nominated for the National Magazine Awards, singled out for inclusion in Best Canadian Poetry (2010 and 2009), Best Canadian Fiction (2011), and in numerous consecutive issues of the Journey Prize Anthology. Grain was a finalist for Magazine of the Year (SK) in the 2010 and the 2011 Western Magazine Awards, and non-fiction in Grain took home first prize in two categories (Student Writing and Gold Awards Best Article–Saskatchewan) in the 2011 Western Magazine Awards.

The annual Short Grain writing contest has two categories:
Poetry: (to a max of 100 lines) Poetry of any style including PROSE POEM up to 100 lines.
Fiction: (to a max of 2,500 words) Short fiction in any form including POST CARD STORY, to a maximum of 2500 words.

Three prizes will be awarded in each category: 1st Prize: $1,000; 2nd Prize: $750; 3rd Prize: $500.
The basic fee for Canadian entrants is $35 for a maximum of two entries in one category. Every entrant receives a one-year (four-issue) subscription to Grain Magazine.

And the Judges are...
For poetry: rob mclennan, author of over 20 trade books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, including Glengarry (2011) and wild horses (2010).
For fiction: Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes and winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book.

Deadline: All entries must be postmarked by April 1, 2012. Full contest rules here.

Submissions
As a literary quarterly, Grain also accepts regular submissions. Grain has a nine-month reading period, September 1st to May 31st. Manuscripts postmarked and/or received between June 1st and August 31st will not be read nor returned.
Poetry: Individual poems, sequences, or suites up to a maximum of 12 pages.

Fiction: 1 or 2 stories, to a maximum of 5000 words each (stories at the longer end of the word count must be of exceptional quality). Please provide a word count!

Literary non-fiction: To a maximum of 5000 words. The key here is "literary" – imaginative, inventive, culturally/critically relevant (no academic papers or reportage)....Surprise us.

Other writing: Queries for submissions of work in other forms, less easy to categorize forms, cross-genre work, are welcome.

Full submssion guidelines here. Home page here.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Carrie Pestritto of Prospect Agency seeks non-fiction, memoir, fiction and mature YA

2012-01-26T10:18:00.005-05:00

Prospect Agency
551 Valley Road, PMB 377
Upper Montclair, NJ 07043
http://www.prospectagency.com/

Carrie Pestritto joined Prospect Agency in 2011 after working as an assistant at Writers House. With a B.A. in English from Amherst College, she has experienced all sides of the publishing industry, having worked as a ghostwriter, freelance writer, and in the editorial acquisitions department of the Greenwood Publishing Group. As an agent, she loves the thrill of finding new authors with strong, unique voices and working closely with her clients to develop their ideas and manuscripts.

For Carrie, extraordinary fiction and non-fiction share the ability to transport readers to new and exciting places. As a history and mythology buff, she is intrigued by books that introduce her to another culture or time period. She is looking for description and detail that will make her feel like she is inside the story and interest her in a subject she never thought she would want to read about or, conversely, introduce her to startling facts about something or someone she believed she already knew everything about.

Carrie is currently seeking non-fiction, narrative non-fiction, general non-fiction, and some biography and memoir. She is looking for authors who have a strong platform, such as a popular blog, published articles, or related professional experience. Topics such as New England architecture, modern Native American culture, the history of colonialism in literature, or different Cinderella variants throughout different time periods and countries would excite her. She also seeks mainstream prescriptive non-fiction, for example she would love to see a book about the benefits of locavore eating or a completely cutting edge relationship book.

In fiction, she is looking for literary fiction, historical fiction, and mature YA. She would love to see a thriller/mystery about Elizabeth Bathory, otherwise known as “Lady Dracula,” or a novel about a young teacher at a private high school who finds herself attracted to one of her students.

She is not currently interested in romance, science fiction/fantasy, or picture books.

Query Carrie at: carrie@prospectagency.com
Include three chapters and a brief synopsis. Full submission guidelines here.
All five agents at Prospect are currently seeking authors. For a description of their backgrounds and interests, see here.

Brian Henry will lead a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Writing for Children and for Young Adults workshop, Saturday, June 2, Oakville

2012-01-25T08:09:00.001-05:00

"Writing for Children & for Young Adults,
the world's hottest market"
Saturday, June 2, 2012
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Oakville Central Library, 120 Navy Street, Oakville. (Good all day parking on Water Street, across from the canoe club. (Map here.)

Whether you want to write the next best-selling children’s books or just want to create stories for your own kids, this workshop is for you. Learn how to write stories kids and young adults will love, and find out what you need to know to sell your book.

Special option: You may, but don't have to, bring 2 or 3 copies of the opening couple pages (first 500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel. (Or if 1,000 words will get you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first chapter, bring that.) If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry, we’ll get you started on the spot!

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He is also the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing Inc).

"Brian’s the real deal. He isn't just an inspiring teacher – he's plugged into the publishing world! He got me an agent who sold my first novel, Bitten, to publishers around the world. More recently, my young adult novel, The Awakening, hit number 1 on the New York Times bestsellers' list. And Random House Canada, Bantam U.S. and Little Brown in Britain have contracted my next seven books."
~ Kelley Armstrong, Aylmer, Ontario, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Calling and other supernatural thrillers for teens and adults.

Fee: $38.94 + 13% hst = $44 paid in advance
or $42.48 + 13% hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Photos: Two books by Brian's students – The Calling, a young adult novel by Kelley Armstrong and Business in Bangkok, a picture book by Lynn Westerhout.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Exploring Creative Writing course, Tuesday afternoons, April 17 – June 12 in Mississauga

2012-01-24T06:32:00.002-05:00

Nine weeks of fun and discovery
Tuesday afternoons, 12:45 – 2:45 p.m.
April 17 – June 12, 2012
Unity Church, Unit 8, 3075 Ridegeway Drive, Mississauga (Map here.)
Just north off Dundas Street, east of Hwy 403, west of Winston Churchill Blvd in a business mall.

In this course you'll explore all kinds of creative writing. We’ll visit short story writing and personal writing, children’s writing, memoir writing, and just for fun writing. You’ll get a shot of inspiration every week and an assignment to keep you going till the next class. Best of all, this class will provide a zero-pressure, totally safe environment, where your words will flow and flower.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee: $115.04 plus 13% hst = $130
Advance registration only. Number of attendees strictly limited.

To reserve your spot now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
Note: Brian's weekly writing classes tend to fill up, to avoid disappointment, register early.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Ascent Aspirations Yearly Anthology Contest & a Children's Story Contest

2012-01-23T08:21:00.004-05:00

Yearly Anthology Contest for poetry (60 lines maximum) and flash fiction (maximum 800 words).

Our theme is disorders. These disorders can be for example alcohol/substance abuse, anxiety, bipolar, depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, schizophrenia, disociative disorders, sexual disorders, sleep disorders and on and on.

We are looking for poetry and flash fiction that touches on this theme in any way and comments on the human condition. The writer can interpret the theme very broadly and come at it from whatever direction he or she wishes.

Deadline: January 31, 2012
Entry fee: $5 for one poem or $10 for 3; $10 for flash fiction
Prizes in each category: $100 for 1st place, $50 for 2nd, $25 for 3rd, and six $10 honorable mentions, plus all thrity-two winners and honorable mentions will receive a free copy of the anthology.
Entry information and complete contest rules here.

Children's Story Contest
Stories should be directed to ages 9 to 12 and be approximately 1,500 words. Ten stories will be published in a special anthology with a prize of $200 for the best entry.

Deadline March 31, 2012. Entry fee: $10

After selection, artists-in-residence from T.O.S.H. (The Old School House) will create fine art works to represent the stories. Our goal is to produce a special book that will give children great stories and exposure to a range of contemporary and original artistic styles. All profits will go to support T.O.S.H., a non-profit community arts centre in Qualicum Beach, BC.
Entry information and full contest rules here.

Submissions
In addition to publishing an annual print anthology, Ascent Aspirations publishes a monthly journal on-line. Ascent Aspirations accepts unsolicited manuscripts of:

Short Fiction, 1,000 words or less, on literary, science fiction, fantasy and horror or dark main stream
Poetry, preferably short enough to fill a page. (We do not publish long multi-page poems
Short Essays (1000 words or less) on life and the human condition
Reviews of current published works
Visual Art, (Paintings or Photographs) Send 8 jpgs for an exhibit with a bio and a photo.

Submit by email to: ascentaspirations@shaw.ca. Full submission guidelines here.

For information about all the annual writing contests in Canada, order the Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar. Just $23.50 including all taxes and shipping. For details email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
More about the Contest Calendar here.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Love Letters and Writer to Writer

2012-01-22T08:44:00.005-05:00

Hi, Brian:
I have some great news: Canadian Stories magazine will be publishing my memoir of Weyburn ("A Pretty Little Town With a River Running Through It") that I read in the Tuesday afternoon class in Oakville. They’re also publishing a pen and ink sketch that I did of a grain elevator to go with the story.

I'm so happy!!! Thanks for telling us about that magazine and for encouraging us to submit.

Kind Regards,
Oksanna Crawley

For information on submitting to Canadian Stories, a literary folk magazine, see here.
For information about upcoming weekly creative writing courses, see here.

Hi, Brian.

I’ve had another short story, "Entertaining Stranger" published on CommuterLit.com, and I’ve also published another short story, "Afterwards," on Chapter and Verse.

I love writing short stories and because as a writer I often feel that I work alone in a vacuum. To have someone else like what has been written feels just like receiving a breath of fresh air, a pat on the back, encouragement to continue.

Your encouragement and support means the world to me. Thank you. :-)
Audrey Austin

To read Audrey's stories on CommuterLit, see here. To read her story on Chapter & Verse, see here.For information about submitting to CommuterLit, see here.

Writer to writer:

Attention Writers Aged 16-25:
Open Call for Diaspora Dialogues Shorthand Zine

Diaspora Dialogues is inviting young writers between 16 and 25 to submit original short-form writing (poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, graphic fiction, or drama) to publish in Shorthand, our new online zine.

Submission deadlines for Shorthand will be rolling. Each submission must be in by 5pm on the 10th of the month previous to the month of publication. (February 10th for the March issue, March 10th for April issue, etc.)

Please send submissions electronically to jordan@diasporadialogues.com
with ‘Shorthand Open Call Submission’ in the subject line.

Diaspora Dialogues supports the creation and presentation of new stories, poetry and drama that reflect the complexity of Toronto through the eyes of its richly diverse writers. For more information, please visit us here.

Hi, Brian.
I’m looking for test readers for feedback on my recently completed adult literary novel about 2 writers; working title, "Rough Draft." Anyone interested should please email me at: thierrypapineau@hotmail.com

I'm compiling a list of publishers to submit my work to as well, thanks to your blog. Some want cover letters, some want synopsis, some want 10 pages, some want 30... it's madness!

Thanks for the support!
Thierry
thierrypapineau@hotmail.com
P.S. I might come down and see you in Kingston in April for the Bestseller Seminar.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

"Invisible" by Jeanne Bannon

2012-01-21T19:20:00.001-05:00

A coming-of-age story that will warm the heart.

Lola’s not pretty. Lola’s not popular. Lola wishes she could disappear, and then one day she does....

For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, life is a struggle. Born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Bullied and despised, Lola still has the support of her best pal Charlie and Grandma Rose.

Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her new “ability”.

Slowly, with Charlie’s help, Lola learns to control the new super power. The possibilities are endless. Yet power can be abused, too…

Then, when tragedy strikes, Lola must summon her inner strength, both at home and at school. She has to stand up for herself, despite the temptations and possibilities of her newfound super power.

You can buy Invisible in various formats for just $2.99 here. Check out Jeanne's blog here.

See Brian Henry's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Performance poet Charlene Jones will appear February 5, at Portobello Restaurant & Bar in Toronto

2012-01-20T19:54:00.002-05:00

"Bliss Pig" poetry by
Charlene Jones & Linda Stitt

Charlene Jones has been a performance poet for eight years. She'll join forces with her performance partner, Linda Stitt...

Sunday, February 5th, 2012,
Between 1:30 and 4:30
at Portobello Restaurant and Bar
995 Bay Street, Toronto (map here)
(where Linda hosts a monthly reading and music series)

Everyone welcome!

"For My Cat," Charlene Jones

I will miss the one body
soft light
in the cold upper air

I will
miss the snout, paw, maw
warmth of you/us/all

how one hand reaches
might be mine one heart beats
or sweat trickle down an arm
I long ago once thought I owned

this gift-ing, this give-ing
one morning I will remember, smile
and into the top side
rain a single sliver of gold.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Book launch for "After Philosopy" and for "Pressure to Sing" this Sunday, January 22

2012-01-20T10:34:00.002-05:00

Dear Brian,
I am honoured to invite you to the official book launch of my third book of poetry, After Philosophy, published by bojit press in Toronto. I hope you can join me for this long-awaited (at least for me!) launch of a book of which I am so proud.

The book launch, which is a joint one with Brandon Pitts, who is launching his own book of poetry, Pressure to Sing, will be held at the Masonic Lodge, 11 Thomas Street, Streetsville, Ontario, from 2 to 4 pm on Sunday, January 22, 2012.

Please pass this invitation on to others, as well. Everyone's welcome.

I hope you'll be able to join me. If not, you can order After Philosophy, as well as my previous books, from my website at here.
Sincerely,
Saskia van Tetering

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Farley Chase forms new literary agency, actively seeking clients

2012-01-19T09:40:00.002-05:00

"Your Dog is Your Mirror"
by Kevin Behan
represented by Farley Chase

Farley Chase recently founded Chase Literary Agency after nearly eight years with the Waxman Literary Agency. Before becoming an agent he worked in magazines; at both The New Yorker and Talk magazine, and at publishing companies; both The New Press and Miramax Books.

Interests: "I'm excited to hear about new ideas in memoir, journalism, science, natural history, military history, food, sports, international affairs, current events, business or biography. I’m drawn to voice-driven and original content written by authors distinguished by an expertise and passion for conveying what is new, interesting and/or entertaining about their subject matter.

"I'm interested in humor books and pop culture projects.

"I’m interested in photo, graphic, and otherwise illustrated books.

"I'm interested in books that can be adapted out of blogs or websites.

"My fiction list is selective and I concentrate on plot driven novels with a strong sense of voice, place and character. I do not represent young adult, romance, or science fiction.

"I'm actively looking for new clients."

Query Farley Chase at: farley@chaseliterary.com
"I prefer straightforward query letters that get right to the point about what the project is and which show the author to be familiar with the marketplace. If you're submitting fiction please include the first few pages of the manuscript with the query. I do not represent young adult, romance, or science fiction."

Farley Chase's website isn't up and running yet. (His agency is that new.) But his page at Publisher's Marketplace includes a list of books he's represented in various genres. See here.

Brian Henry will lead a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Exploring Creative Writing course, Monday afternoons, March 26 – June 4, in Oakville

2012-01-18T12:39:00.004-05:00

Nine weeks of fun and discovery
Monday afternoons, 12:45 – 2:45 p.m.
March 26 – June 4, 2012
(No class Easter Monday or Victoria Day)
St Cuthbert's Anglican Church
1541 Oakhill Drive, Oakville. (Map here.)

In this course you'll explore all kinds of creative writing. We’ll visit short story writing and personal writing, children’s writing, memoir writing, and just for fun writing. You’ll get a shot of inspiration every week and an assignment to keep you going till the next class. Best of all, this class will provide a zero-pressure, totally safe environment, where your words will flow and flower.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee: $115.04 plus 13% hst = $130
Advance registration only. Number of attendees strictly limited.
To reserve your spot now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
Note: Brian's weekly writing classes tend to fill up, to avoid disappointment, register early.

See Brian Henry's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Freedom Bound by Jean Rae Baxter

2012-01-17T10:25:00.001-05:00

This is the final instalment of Jean Rae Baxter’s best-selling young adult trilogy. Eighteen-year-old Charlotte sails from Canada to Charleston during these final months of the American Revolution.

Charlotte needs all her wit and courage when she has to rescue Nick from being tortured as a spy in an alligator-infested South Carolina swamp. She must also find ways to bring freedom to a pair of teenage runaway slaves she has befriended.

Freedom Bound delivers a frank and realistic picture of the slave system and a powerful account of what was at stake for both white and black Loyalists as they prepared to find a new home in the country that was soon to be Canada.

Like The Way Lies North and Broken Trail, the two novels that preceded it, Freedom Bound contains a wealth of carefully researched historical details of one of the least known chapters of our history.

Freedom Bound will be released Febraury 1, 2012. and will be available in bookstores or directly from the publisher, Ronsdale Press. But you can buy a signed copy from the author at the "How to Write Great Characters" workshop on February 4, where Jean will be the guest speaker. Details here.

See Brian Henry's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Writers' Union of Canada Postcard Story Competition & The Binnacle's Ultra-short Competition

2012-01-16T19:38:00.003-05:00

"Whoa! Two contests for short shorts!"
"Yeah, and one of them's free!"

The Writer’s Union of Canada Postcard Story Competition
The Writers’ Union of Canada is pleased to announce that submissions are being accepted for its annual Postcard Story Competition for the best Canadian story of up to 250 words in the English language. Are you up for the challenge? Can you create a dramatic, short, snappy piece in only 250 words? You can use humour, poetry, dialogue… anything goes!

Award: $750 and the winning entry will be published in Write: The Magazine of The Writers' Union of Canada and in postcard format.

Eligibility: This competition is open to all Canadian citizens and landed immigrants. Story must be previously unpublished, fiction or nonfiction.

Deadline: February 14. Entry Fee: $7.50. Submission instructions and complete rules here.

For a great example of a winning entry, read "The Invasion of the Snotty Badgers" by Karin Weber – it will only take you a minute. See here.

The Binnacle's free ultra-short competition for prose or poetry
The Binnacle is the University of Maine’s Literary and Arts magazine. It accepts submissions from writers all over the world and sponsors an annual contest that everybody should enter: The Binnacle’s ultra-short competition. There’s no fee and your piece doesn’t have to be long at all. In fact, for prose and poetry the maximum length is 150 words (sixteen lines max for poems).

All submissions should be made via email to ummbinnacle@maine.edu
Please include the work in the body of the email.

Winning entries will be published, and a minimum of $300 in cash awards will be awarded, with a minimum award of $50. At least one of the awards will go to a UMM student. Please submit no more than two works total, prose and/or poetry. When you submit your work, please be sure to include your postal address as well as a thirty-five to fifty word self-description.

Deadline February 15. No entry fee. Full contest rules here.

Regular submissions:
As a literary journal, The Binnacle accepts submissions, too, both from the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Maine at Machias and from writers and artists anywhere in the world. Please submit original poetry, short fiction, short short fiction, creative non-fiction, as well as photography and other works of visual art, both color and black and white. Please limit submissions to 2500 words.

The Binnacle accepts submissions year round, with submissions made September 15 to March 15 considered for the spring edition and submissions made March 15 to Oct 15 for the fall edition.

Full submission guidelines here. Visit the Binnacle's home page here.

For information about all the annual writing contests in Canada, order the Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar. Just $23.50 including shipping. For details email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
More about the Contest Calendar here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

“Kobo eReader – friend or foe?” by Francine H. Lee

2012-01-15T10:52:00.006-05:00

I am a better person with a book in my hands.

Having no ability to play music, to paint, to keep green things alive, my options are limited for creative self-fulfillment. From my very first memories, there has been a book near my bed – a book from school, from the public library, or the one my father was reading to me, sans bookmark. (We had to memorize the page, or he would not read to us the next night!)

Books have been a comfort through my childhood, through high school, through college, and into my adult life. A book is what I placed into the hands of my 15-month-old son when my identical twins were born. "Here sweetie, read to Mummie!"

There is something sensual about a book. Hardcover or paperback. Novel or short story. Fiction or study guide. It engages my eyes, my ears (flip, flip, flip,). A dusty old dusty copy of King Lear makes me sneeze when I caress the yellowed pages, the rumpled covers and profound words.

I usually have a hot beverage nearby, an unscented tea light flickering; perhaps heat from a nearby electric fireplace, but the feel of the book is paramount.

"I will never use an eReader!" I told my son. "It doesn't bend! But I will look into it for you."

The excuses continued to build as I paced through my local bookstore. A helpful young woman saw that I was trying to justify approaching the eReader zone. I listened to what she said and remembered nothing but still walked out with the little box in tow.

At home, even I could figure out how to charge it, download the installation data onto my PC, sync the 200 free e-books onto the Kobo, and marvel at the tingles I felt at the back of my neck. It was working! I could do this! No need for a teenager to thrust me aside and say, "Here, let me, Mum."

I sat a little taller, almost giddy at the thought of holding 200 books in my left hand. I even dared to buy a book, with credit card in hand, just to see if I could accomplish this, never stepping foot out of my home.

The Kobo (anagram of book?) has black text on a grey backdrop, rather than glaring white pages. The font can be changed to one of their limited options, allowing me to feel slightly in control. The size of the font can be magnified as the day progresses and my eyes fatigue. I can change from a tiny concise font for books, to a large decadent fancy font for poetry.

The entire thing is touch screen (no buttons) – there is an on/off for sleep mode and a menu button discreetly placed at the bottom centre. Nothing else distracts the eye from the words. No pictures (except of the cover). No adverts. Nothing but a tiny reference to what page you are on, and the remaining number of pages to go in the chapter.

I am entranced. This Kobo is my new pet (allergies prevent any other kind). It has barely left my side. It is the start of a beautiful friendship.

***

When not skulking in the lobby of the Stratford Festival hoping for a rush seat in the balcony, Francine Lee can be found in flux between watching Henry Fonda in Grapes of Wrath again, or Archimedes in The Sword in the Stone. Someday she hopes to grow up to be older than her 4 children! ;-) Until then, back to the kitchen for another batch of peasant soup.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Random House of Canada becomes sole owner of McClelland & Stewart

2012-01-13T15:55:00.002-05:00

Alice Munro

Mark Medley The National Post

McClelland & Stewart, the Canadian publisher of Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Leonard Cohen and Alice Munro, and one of the country’s most storied cultural institutions, has been sold to Random House of Canada, its long-time part-owner.

In 2000, Toronto real-estate developer Avie Bennett, who acquired the company in 1986, donated 75% of the publisher to the University of Toronto and sold the remaining 25% to Random House of Canada, a partnership with existed, relatively unchanged, for the past 11 years.

However, according to a press release announcing the sale, the “challenges facing publishers, including a difficult economy and digital-driven transitions facing the industry, have put significant pressure on M&S, and it has been experiencing financial challenges.”

“We believe with McClelland & Stewart fully within the Random House of Canada family we will more effectively be able to meet these challenges to ensure the growth and long-term stability of this iconic Canadian publisher,” said Brad Martin, Random House of Canada’s president and CEO, in a statement.

Michael Ondaatje

Said University of Toronto President David Naylor: “We greatly respect the care and attention with which Random House of Canada has managed their 25% ownership over the past eleven years and are confident that Random House of Canada’s commitment to McClelland & Stewart will help it achieve even greater success in the future.”

He was unavailable for further comment.

Random House of Canada is owned by German conglomerate Bertelsmann AG. However, according to the press release, the “needed regulatory approval has been obtained from the responsible authority.”

According to the press release, Random House of Canada intends to maintain the M&S imprint, as well as the New Canadian Library, Emblem Editions, Signal, and Tundra Books, the company’s children’s book division. Support was also promised for M&S’s lauded poetry program, as well as to fund the Journey Prize, an annual short story award for emerging writers, and its accompanying anthology.

Leonard Cohen

“Random House of Canada has been a wonderful partner for McClelland & Stewart for the past eleven years,” said Bennett in a statement. “The commitments they have made to upholding the tradition of M&S and the ongoing focus on Canadian publishing assures me that M&S is in good hands.”

Thus far, no staffing changes have been announced. Doug Pepper, M&S’s president and publisher since 2004, has been named to Random House of Canada’s Executive Committee. Also staying on is Executive Vice President and highly-regarded editor, Ellen Seligman. Although M&S maintained editorial independence from its corporate parent (and even competes against it when it came to signing authors) Random House of Canada shared support services with M&S, including sales, production, design and human resources. “Our processes really aren’t going to change that much, since we already are really quite integrated with them,” said Pepper in an interview.

“In a pretty challenging marketplace, especially in Canadian publishing, the kind of stability and vision for growth that Random House – not just in Canada but around the world – gives us is a good thing,” he added.

“It’s just a logical extension of what they’ve been doing all along,” agreed Toronto-based literary agent Denise Bukowski, who started her career at M&S. “I worked there for a long time in the 70s, and it’s a very beloved place to me. But I think it can only benefit from the kinds of modernization that Random House will bring to it."

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Dancing Cat Books seeks young adult and middle grade fiction

2012-01-12T07:53:00.002-05:00

Home Truths by Jill MacLean, a YA book
published by Dancing Cat Books
& nominated for the Red Maple Award

Dancing Cat Books is a new imprint of Cormorant Books. Dancing Cat publishes literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for the young adult and middle-grades, as well as picture books.

"The goal of Dancing Cat Books is to develop and nurture lifelong readers. We aim to begin children’s engagement with the power of the written word by publishing books that reflect their worlds and respect their points of view. Our books will endure because of character-driven story lines, evocative language, complex themes, and quality artwork.

"Dancing Cat Books is currently accepting submissions for young adult and middle grade fiction. We are not currently accepting children's picture book submissions."

Submissions:
Send a complete manuscript by mail. Include an author CV, for chapter books, a brief synopsis of the work (no more than 200 words), and a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of manuscript.

For Artists:
"We are looking for art portfolios (3 to 6 colour or black and white digital proofs) from artists who include a full biography and website address or online portfolio, if available."

Submissions should be sent to:
Barry Jowett
Dancing Cat Books
215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 230
Toronto, ON M5T 2C7

Full submission guidelines here.

Brian Henry will lead "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshops in St. Catharines on January 14 (see here) and in London, Ontario, on April 21 (see here).

Brian will also lead a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Good news for book sellers: eReader owners could double, but print-lovers growing, too

2012-01-11T12:59:00.000-05:00

The latest stats on e-readers and print books suggests that the prediction I've been making that we'll move to e-books as the norm within a decade or so may be off. The number of people buying e-book readers (and e-books) continues to soar, but the number of people saying they certainly won't be buying an e-reader has also solidified at just over half (and in fact has increased marginally).

On the other hand, as I've also been predicting, the advent of tablet computers and colour e-book readers is set to cause a boom in e-book sales for children's books.

The next big trend – that's still over the horizon – will be when authors begin specifically to write for e-books and begin to incorporate colour visuals into their works, and books will begin looking more like this blog and other attractive on-line media.
– Brian

eReaders Owners Could Double, But Print-Lovers Are Growing, Too
(From Publisher’s Lunch)

For the third consecutive year, at Digital Book World later this month, Jack McKeown from Verso Digital (and Books & Books Westhampton Beach) will present original consumer survey data and analysis on consumer habits regarding both ebooks and print books, from responses elicited from over 2,200 respondents after November's "Cyber Monday."

By their results, ereader ownership could as much as double over the next year--6.4 percent of respondents are "very likely" to purchase, and another 9.9 percent are somewhat likely, with 15.8 percent of people saying they "already own" an reader. (That ownership percentage is roughly consistent with what Bowker PubTrack's monthly survey has found.)

But perhaps most striking is that 51.8 percent of those surveyed said they are "not at all likely" to buy an ereader in the year ahead, the first time that number has been above half. As McKeown observes, "While e-reader ownership rates have increased in a dramatic fashion since our first survey in December, 2009, so too has the level of resistance.

The dynamic movement highlighted in this data suggests that over time, consumers have moved out of the 'not sure' category in one of two directions: a.) toward actual ownership, or a high probability of near-term ownership of a dedicated e-reader; or b.) into the ranks of resistors for whom the devices do not yet offer a compelling 'relative advantage' to overcome their conservatism re: printed books."

Meanwhile, Verso found that even ereader owners continue to say they buy basically equal numbers of ebooks and print books. (That's echoed by Amazon executive Russ Grandinetti at Amazon, who confirms to USA Today what has been the prevailing trend at the etailer: print and digital sales are both up, but 'digital is growing significantly faster'"--at least in units.) McKeown writes, "This points to an evolving hybrid market in which print and digital channels will need to co-exist and supplement each other in order to satisfy the expressed consumer preference for both formats. This has interesting ramifications for the future of bricks-and-mortar retail, as well as for new formats such as bundled e-books/print books."

Will Tablets Fire the Children's Market?
With color reading tablets like Kindle Fire, the Nook Tablet and Kobo Vox selling strongly over the holidays and pulling consumers from plain old eInk reading devices, the market for digital children's books is poised for takeoff.

After initial strength from the iOS market and the Nook Kids, the new devices raise the question again of whether ebooks, enhanced files, apps or other platforms will lead the way.
…
Our own deal data confirms children's books as one of publishing’s key growth areas, and now the technology is prompting a real boost in digital children's products.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Call for submissions for Dreams Wedding Magazine

2012-01-10T10:43:00.001-05:00

Hi Brian,
My name is Vivek and I am Director of Dreams Wedding Show based in Oakville. Dreams initially started as Wedding Show in 2007. Since then, we’ve organized some fashion shows with multicultural brides fashions.

Now we’re publishing a Dreams Wedding Magazine, I would like to invite writers to submit articles about weddings, parties, travel, relationships, etc. Articles are also welcome for publication on our blog.

Please query me about articles or send completed pieces to dreams.shows@gmail.com

All the best,
Vivek
http://www.dreamsshows.com/

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Toronto Star free Short Story Contest ~ $8,000 in prizes

2012-01-09T06:31:00.004-05:00

Winners of the 2011 Toronto Star short story contest:
Richelle Kosar (one of Brian Henry's students),
Erik Martinez and Samantha Craggs

The Toronto Star’s 2012 Short Story Contest – one of the largest in North America – is now open for entries.

The contest, which is now in its 34th year and is open to all Ontario residents aged 16 and older, attracted nearly 2,100 entries last year.

The winner of the contest will receive a grand prize of $5,000 plus the tuition fee for the 30-week creative writing correspondence program at the Humber School for Writers (normally overpriced at $3,000). In addition, the second-place winner will receive a prize of $2,000 and the third-place winner will receive $1,000.

For the third consecutive year, the Toronto Public Library is a partner with the Star in presenting the contest. “The library is very pleased to join the Star in encouraging writers of this wonderful literary form. We know there are thousands of stories waiting to be told, and we wish all this year’s entrants the best of luck,” said Jane Pyper, city librarian of the Toronto Public Library.

The Humber School for Writers is also a partner in the contest.

The judges for the 2012 contest are Jessica Westhead, author of the short story collection And Also Sharks; Jane Pyper, city librarian of the Toronto Public Library; Richard Ouzounian, theatre critic for the Toronto Star and author of six books; and Dianne Rinehart, the Star’s books editor.

The winners will be announced in April during the library’s Keep Toronto Reading Festival. Their stories will be published in the Toronto Star.

Deadline for submitting entries is Feb. 26, 2012.
Stories must be written in English and must not exceed 2,500 words.
No entry fee. For full contest rules, see here.

For information about all the annual writing contests in Canada, order the Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar. Just $23.50 including shipping. For details email brianhenry@sympatico.ca. More about the Contest Calendar here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

“Decisions” flash fiction by Cat Wilson

2012-01-07T11:16:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I just don’t listen. My husband Steve keeps telling me that my truck has seen better days, there is just too much wrong that needs work, and I really need to trade it in for something more reliable.

But as I said, sometimes I just don’t listen. My truck hauls around a lot of memories and I’m not ready to part with it. Besides, I like being high up and looking down upon all the little people.

But as I’m driving home today, I notice lights from a train coming in the distance, and I hurry it up a little so that I don’t get stuck at the level crossing waiting for the train to pass. I gun the gas and my truck goes into its usual overdrive.

But then it happens. She stalls – stalls right on the tracks. Then the gate comes down across the hood, and there I am – stuck on the tracks. My mind’s racing as I keep trying to start the truck again, and I’m too freaked to realize I should get out and run.

I look up to see the train speeding toward me, and that’s when the horror hits: I am going to die.

There’s the sound of screeching brakes, a piercing whistle, then darkness.

They say that your life flashes before your eyes. Well, the only thing flashing by me was all the bad decisions I ever made. Selfishness, greed, self-preservation – they led to a lot of bad choices for what I told myself were good reasons.

At least when I meet the big guy, I’ll be ready with my excuses. Except the Connie Francis tune keeps going through my mind: “Who’s sorry now?”

That’s easy – me.

My head hurts. Wait a minute – my head hurts! And I see a light.

“Ma’am, are you all right?””

“I’m not dead? That makes me wonderful.”

“The train hit the back of your truck and spun it out. An ambulance is on its way, but I think you’ll be all right.”

Yes, I think I will be … not just all right, but much better.

Photos: Napa Valley Wine Train and a section of the Eagle Nebula taken from the Hubble Telescope

Catherine “Cat” Wilson is a mystery writer in the making, she has been writing since she was fifteen and has a poem published in a national anthology. She also helped write and edit “A Journey Through Time” the Art of Steve Wilson, published in 2011. She hopes to have her first novel finished in 2012. She currently lives in Brampton with her husband Steve and her two dogs.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Literary agent Emmanuelle Morgen joins Stonesong, seeks adult & children's fiction, popular nonfiction, memoir, etc.

2012-01-05T17:22:00.003-05:00

Stonesong
27 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10010
http://stonesong.com/

Today (Jan 5, 2012), literary agent Emmanuelle Morgen starts at Stonesong. She will represent adult and children's fiction, including women's fiction and romance, historical fiction, and young adult fiction, and nonfiction in the areas of psychology, pop science, self-help, and memoir. Morgen was previously an agent with Judith Ehrlich Literary Management.

Founded in 1979, Stonesong has three distinct divisions: a literary agency representing adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction; a book development division providing concept creation, project management, design, and production services; and a self- publishing division collaborating with private clients to produce the highest-quality books and e-books.

New York Times bestsellers include The Sisters Grimm series and the NERDS series by Michael Buckley (Abrams/Amulet), The Daring Book for Girls (HarperCollins), and How Not to Look Old by Charla Krupp (Grand Central Press). Forthcoming titles include the widely anticipated Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (Knopf, Fall 2012), Small Plates and Sweet Treats by Cannelle et Vanille’s Aran Goyoaga (Little, Brown, Fall 2012), and Amy Atlas’s Sweet Designs (Hyperion, Spring 2012).

Stonesong’s books and authors have been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The View, The Martha Stewart Show, Live with Anderson Cooper and in O Magazine, People, InStyle, Parents, and Glamour.

Other agents:

Alison Fargis, Partner, represents a wide range of commercially successful, bestselling properties, including cookbooks, pop culture, how-to, fashion, health/wellness, diet, parenting, and children’s and adult fiction.

Judy Linden, Executive Vice President, Literary Agent, and Director, Digital and Print Media, has been a respected publishing professional for 30 years as an agent, book developer, and executive editor. Judy has represented top-selling properties in the following categories: cooking, fashion, design, crafts, health/wellness, fitness, psychology, parenting, popular science, business, and self-improvement.

Sarah Passick, Editorial Assistant, is a recent graduate from Tulane University and the New York University Publishing Institute. She is interested in acquiring narrative nonfiction and pop culture titles from and for twenty-somethings.

Submissions:
Please email your query to one agent: Emmanuelle Morgen, Alison Fargis, Judy Linden, or Sarah Passick, at submissions@stonesong.com
Include the first chapter or first 10 pages of your work.

Brian Henry will lead "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshops in St. Catharines on January 14 (see here) and in London, Ontario, on April 21 (see here).

Brian will also lead a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

"Rumours of God" by Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson, reviewed by Elizabeth Young

2012-01-05T07:30:00.000-05:00

Thomas Nelson, July 2011, 256 pages, Trade Paper $15.99, E-Book $14.99

I will admit, as someone who is a diehard for British spelling, the first thing I noticed about this book was the American spelling. Rumors? Something about American spelling makes me take an item not as seriously as if it had the ‘correct’ spelling (sorry, I know I’m outing myself as old-fashioned here). The wonderful thing is I couldn’t have been more wrong! This is an exciting book about the Church in the 21st Century, alive and well on planet Earth.

Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson are Australians who met at youth camp when teenagers, and subsequently attended the same youth group. They met together for early morning prayer, long before they were called individually to be a part of the Western Church. Their long and mutual friendship is what validates this book (they have known each other longer than they have known their wives), and though it isn’t mentioned, one cannot help but think of the Biblical relationship between David and Jonathan.

A tremendous amount of research has gone into this slim volume, and comparisons regularly done between what truly influences many Christians in 2011 and how the Scripture says we should live. This reveals the radical nature of the Gospel and the insidious influence of the world through things such as advertising, inordinate desire for wealth and possessions, concern over outward appearance, poverty and human rights.

“We are being persuaded to spend money we don’t have, on things we don’t need, to create impressions that won’t last, on people we don’t care about.” - Tim Jackson

Cultural differences are looked at with interesting insight, right from the first Church up to present day America, and it makes for fascinating reading. Easy to read and follow, this book reminds me of a meal where everything has been mixed together. The authors come alongside to gently clarify, sometimes with humour, what are the necessary meat and vegetables and what is the sugar that is addictive and adds nothing of nutritional value.

Oftentimes we are not aware of things we have been greatly affected by culturally; this book provides an excellent and timely wake up call. Rich and varied examples are provided of the Church in action according to true New Testament principles, and I found it a truly encouraging read, with a marvellous portrayal of true spiritual community.

The wonderful thing about the authors of this book is that they have put their faith into action. Darren Whitehead is the Teaching Pastor along with Bill Hybels as Senior Pastor at one of the most influential Churches in North America, Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. Jon Tyson is the Pastor of Trinity Grace Church in New York City (Trinity Grace has five Churches there; Jon and his family live in Manhattan).

The notes at the end of the book are extremely detailed and influenced by C. S. Lewis. At the end of the book there is a study on each Chapter that provides excellent material for any group to go through. I can imagine some great dialogue and debate arising from them, and highly recommend the entire book. I would give it five stars and a heartfelt thank you.

I would also like to thank BookSneeze who provided the copy of this book for me to read and review.

Raised in England, Elizabeth Young is a prolific writer from Barrie, Ontario, whose poetry has been likened to that of Emily Dickinson. Arriving in Canada on 9^th April, 1977, she relates fully to the immigrant experience. In addition to poetry, Elizabeth enjoys writing prose, articles and stories and has a work in progress about her paternal Grandmother. She blogs regularly at The Garden Gate: here.

Quick Brown Fox welcomes book reviews, interviews with authors and other book-related articles. Guidelines here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Love Letters & Writer to Writer

2012-01-04T08:26:00.001-05:00

Dear Brian
I've been in Traverse City, Michigan, where my novel Broken Trail received the Moonbeam Awards' Gold Medal for young adult historical fiction. This was a great honour, since entries for Moonbeam Awards came from 33 U. S. states, six Canadian provinces, and three countries overseas. It was especially thrilling to me to have a book telling about the Revolutionary War from a Canadian point of view receive such acclaim.
Yours,
Jean Rae Baxter

P.S. I just learned today that Milcah Klein, owner of Marenga Publishing in Tel Aviv, wants to translate my first short story collection, A Twist of Malice, into Hebrew and bring it out in Israel. She wants to get started on the translation as soon as I give permission. I know you'll recall this book, as two of the stories in the collection were started as exercises in your workshops.

Note: Jean will be the guest speaker at my "You Can Write Great Characters" workshop, Saturday, February 4, in Dundas, Ontario. Details here.

Hi Brian,
I thought I would let you know I had saw the posting for the Leap Local Travel Story contest on your blog, and I won runner up. Have a great day!
Jackie D

Brian,
I’ve had a piece published on CommuterLit.com. Read it here. It was one of my short pieces for the Wednesday night class.
Matt

For information about upcoming creative writing classes, see here. For information about submitting to CommuterLit, see here.

Writer to Writer

Hi, Brian.
I've started a new blog dedicated to raising awareness of the British Home Child movement. From 1870-1940 approximately 100,000 children were sent to Canada. Most boys became farm hands; girls, mothers' helpers. It's estimated that 10-12% of the Canadian population can trace their roots to a home child.

My grandmother sailed from England in 1912 at 8 years old with her brother and sister. To honor the 100th anniversary of her coming to Canada, I'm collecting stories of home children (with photos) and posting them. The stories will begin appearing on January 10.

If any of your readers/writers would like to participate, I'd be happy to post their stories. Writers interested in telling their ancestor's story can contact me at rosembrandon@yahoo.ca. An introductory posting appears on the blog here.
All the best,
Rose McCormick Brandon

Writer seeking quality contacts in Oakville area
I have recently moved to Oakville (Bronte). I am a retired International Creative Director (writer). During my 45-year career I have been transfered from Toronto to London, Paris, Brussels, Nigeria, Australia and New Zealand with International Advertising agencies.

Since retiring I have written and published 9 books. Eight were self published (IUniverse) ranging from fiction to biog adventures in the advertising industry. I have travelled the well worn paths trying to find an agent and a publisher with little success. Is there a quality club or group that can help me improve my craft and find the elusive publisher?

Sincerely,
D. Richard Truman
richardtruman@cogeco.ca

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Andrea Seto at Beverley Slopen Literary Agency is developing a client base

2012-01-03T09:59:00.003-05:00

Andrea Seto

Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
131 Bloor St. W., Suite 711,
Toronto, ON M5S 1S3
http://www.slopenagency.com/

Beverley Slopen represents a list of internationally published and acclaimed authors in fields ranging from literary and commercial fiction to history, narrative non-fiction, anthropology and biography. Beverley also handles some true crime and self-help.

Some readers will have met Beverley at the "Strategies for Getting Published" seminar I hosted at Ryerson University in 2006 when she was on a panel with Ellen Seligman of McClelland & Stewart and Joy Gugeler of ECW Press.

Like most Canadian agents, Beverley doesn't take on many new authors. "Our clients usually come to us by referral or we approach them," says Beverly.

Recently, though, I'd heard that Beverley's editorial assistant, Andrea Seto, was developing her own client base and emailed her to ask what she's looking for. Andrea is also the managing editor of a new e-book publisher, Bev Editions, so I asked her about that too....

Dear Brian,
Thank you for your email. I am working on building my own client base, but I'm still relatively new at this game and haven't developed much of a list yet.

I'm hoping to develop a Children's/YA list which the Slopen Agency has not focused on in the past, but I look at submissions for all types of genres both fiction and non-fiction for all ages.
Also, we've changed our submissions policy. We've gone paperless and no longer accept hard copy submissions. Authors should email queries to beverley@slopenagency.ca
Include, a bio, brief synopsis and a few sample pages of writing. If we want to see more we will contact the writer by phone or email.

A little bit about Bev Editions:
Bev Editions publishes original e-books to introduce readers to talented authors of fiction and non-fiction. Some titles are new book-length works by published, award-winning writers. Some titles are old favorites, now out-of-print, and made available once more.

This is a challenging and exciting time in book publishing, and Bev Editions is an unabashed experiment to explore the new realm opened by e-books. Yet, there are two constants. Excellent writing is a pleasure. And, a literary culture depends on engaged readers.

You can find out more on our website: www.beveditions.com
Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best,
Andrea Seto
Editorial Assistant
andrea@slopenagency.com

Note: I'll be leading "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshops in St. Catharines on January 14 (see here) and in London, Ontario, on April 21 (see here).

Also, I'll lead a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See my full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T07:35:00.000-05:00

“Safe at Home,” a reminiscence by Jennifer Smith Gray

2011-12-31T07:40:00.000-05:00

"Woman on Couch" by Mari Mackie

You sit in your LazyBoy, feet up, head resting. Your eyes shift between the pages of a Nero Wolfe caper (glasses off) and the ball game (glasses on).

I lie on the couch, not watching the game, not talking to you, but wrapped in the quiet ease of both.

Late September chill spills down to the basement, though the furnace sits idle until next month. I tug the afghan up around my shoulders, snuggled in a half-dream.

A word from the sponsors steers you back to your novel. You cough, turn a page, and light another cigarette.

The voice of the Tigers jumps in and out of my head. The crack of the bat and Ernie Harwell’s play-by-play wakes me in waves. Between plays I drift back.

“Bullshit!” you jeer and I know the ump got it wrong.

Ernie, more delicately, agrees.

The room slowly dims as the sun angles behind the tall pine. The side door opens with a screech. Practice is over and the resident soccer player thunders down the stairs to off-load muddy cleats in the laundry room. Mom calls down for supper.

“The bottom of the eighth!” Ernie says, and I know the soup and grilled cheese will be cold when you and I make it to the table. I settle back in to daydream another inning.

“Trammell to Whitaker … Double play! … Two for the price of one.”

Saturday afternoon.

Jennifer Smith Gray is a graduate of the University of Waterloo's English - Rhetoric and Professional Writing program, and has extensive business and technical writing and editing experience. In recent years, she has been nurturing her inner creative writer, working on short stories, personal essays, and memoirs.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Call for submissions for One Thousand Trees online magazine

2011-12-30T12:04:00.001-05:00

Good afternoon, Brian!
I was one of the attendees at your workshop at Harcourt Church in Guelph, and thoroughly enjoyed it!

As I believe I mentioned then, in October 2010, I launched a website and online magazine, devoted to facilitating wellness and connection. See here.
Each month, I’m looking for articles (usually around 1,000 words, though they can be as short or as long as you need them to be) from individuals and organizations who are committed to the same goals and values that I highlight in One Thousand Trees.

My February 2012 edition will focus on Pets.

Please submit by email, either in the body of your message, or as a Word doc attachment, by the above-stated deadlines. Please do not send PDFs.

If you have not previously submitted an article for One Thousand Trees, please also send a brief (two to three sentence) bio of yourself, and a head shot in JPEG format. Although I don't pay for submissions, I would include a link to your website from my own, as well as including your photo and bio on the Contributors page of my magazine.

Sincerely,
Lisa Browning
lisa@onethousandtrees.com

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Whitecap Books

2011-12-29T07:44:00.002-05:00

"Whitecap Books is one of Canada’s leading independent book publishers. Our diverse list features full-colour gift books on almost every North American state, province, and major city along with books on food, wine, gardening, health and well-being, regional history, and regional guidebooks.

"We publish books for children and youth under our Walrus Books imprint." Unfortunately, Walrus is not currently accepting submissions.

Whitecap is interested in reviewing unsolicited manuscript submissions in the following categories:
Cookbooks
Wine and spirits
Regional travel
Home and garden
Canadian history
North American natural history

Submissions:
Please do not send a completed manuscript. When submitting an idea for a book to Whitecap, please include the following information:

Cover letter: Introduce yourself and include information about your experience including your educational and professional background, and your previous publishing credits. Tell us why your book idea is a good one: Why is a book like this one needed? Who would buy it? How does it differ from competing titles? In what ways is it like similar titles?

Synopsis of the book: For food and wine books, the synopsis should include a table of contents with a list of chapters. For cookbooks, your proposal should also include at least 15 sample recipes. Include information about proposed photographs; do you photograph your own food? If so, include samples (never originals).
If you are interested in having your previously self-published book reviewed, please include a copy of the book.

Submit all materials by mail to: 
Rights and Acquisitions
351 Lynn Avenue  
North Vancouver, BC V7J 2C4

Full submission guidelines here.

Brian Henry will be leading a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write a Bestseller workshop, Sunday, April 29, Peterborough

2011-12-28T07:31:00.003-05:00

How to Write a Bestseller
Sunday, April 29
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Jackson Creek , 481 Reid Street, Peterborough (Map here.)

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published; some – such as Kelley Armstrong – have even landed on the New York Times bestseller's list.

Fee: $32.74 + 13% hst = $37 paid in advance
or $35.40 + 13% hst = $40 if you wait to pay at the door.
To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Friends of the Merril Short Story Contest for speculative fiction

2011-12-27T09:42:00.005-05:00

The Friends of the Merril Collection are running a Speculative Fiction Short Story Contest in order to raise awareness of the Toronto Public Library's Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy.

The Merril Collection houses a comprehensive array of over 72,000 items of Speculative, SF and Fantasy Fiction, including hardcover and paperback fiction, first and rare editions, TPB graphic works and comic collections, pulp and later era magazines, fanzines, research material and critical essays/reference works and compendia – as well as donated original manuscripts from authors such as Phyllis Gottlieb and Guy Gavriel Kay.

The contest is open to international entrants without restriction on country of residence, entrant’s publication history (or lack thereof), or any other delimiting factors (though entrants not of age of majority will need a parent or guardian’s permission in order to enter).

Entries must be original, previously unpublished short stories with a maximum length of 4,000 words, and must be submitted as an e-mailed .rtf attachment (composed in Standard Manuscript Format) to fomsscontest@gmail.com

First Prize: $350 and 1 copy of the limited edition booklet containing the winning stories
Second Prize: $100 and 1 copy of the limited edition booklet containing the winning stories
Third Prize: $50 and 1 copy of the limited edition booklet containing the winning stories

Deadline: February 15, 2012. Each entry must be accompanied by an entry fee of $5. Visit the Friends of the Merril and find the full contest rules here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:40:00.000-05:00

"My First Canadian Winter" by Tammy the cat, with keyboarding by Barbara Fairhead

2011-12-24T13:43:00.005-05:00

"Bloody hell," thought Tammy as she jumped through the cat door and landed slap bang in solid cold wet white. She was so taken aback that she almost forgot why she was jumping through the cat door in the first place. So this was snow! She shuddered. She was beginning to miss her house in England, warm and cosy with lots of scrumptious wildlife in the garden. Somehow, a bunch of squirrels and the Rottweiler next door weren’t quite the same.

As she shook the snow off her paws, a traumatised Tammy decided it was time for affirmative action. Using the last vestiges of her digestive resources, she re-entered the house and peed all over a nice new pair of snow boots. This resulted in a lot of swearing and the purchase of a beautiful canopied litter box. Very satisfying. No more visits to the great outdoors – that’s for sure.

Tammy, an American shorthair with just a touch of Maine Coon, had come to Canada about three months ago. She knew it was three months because Neil and Barbara just got their OHIP cards and could now go and see a vet.

Honestly. What was the big deal? Tammy had never had an OHIP card and she saw the vet all the time. AND she wasn‘t that excited about it. When the kids came home for Christmas, one of them was very ill and had to go to the hospital. No card and LOTS of excitement. Go figure.

Tammy had come accompanied by Indigo, a magnificent Siamese, Chyna the dog, and the servants, Neil and Barbara. Quite understandably, Tammy was Barbara’s vision of cat beauty – a big stripy feline who spills over her knees. Beautiful, intelligent, a great hunter in her day (although nothing like the legendary Rocky, who dragged a duck through the cat flap, and if she never heard that story again, she would be very happy), she could now devote her life to sleeping. Sigh. Her favourite.

Sometimes, though, the nightmares would come. All those injections, being stuck in a box and put on a plane. Bad enough. But then it took Barbara and Neil HOURS to get them out of cargo handling at the airport – a girl can only hold it for so long, and then life gets very wet and smelly. Then three weeks house arrest with two idiot Labradors. The horror!

Tammy also liked sitting on the computer (honing her keyboard skills) – the new laptop was very comfortable – and beating up the dog. She also developed literary interests, which for a time were satisfied by chewing holes in whatever newspaper Neil and Barbara were reading. Now, however, she needed to create. What a good job she’d sent Barbara to that writing class.

She had had a terrible time trying to figure out which voice to use to write this little memoir. Should she use the first person or a narrator? She had been tempted to use the first person. That way she thought, “It would be me talking about me. And even if I’m not talking about me, it’s still me who’s talking.”

All a bit academic since Barbara had the computer.

Now that trips outside were no longer mandatory, Tammy could also devote herself to watching Chyna and Indie launch themselves into the garden, trying to decide which paw will go on the ground and how quickly they can lift it up.

Indie’s face when he hit his first snow pile was quite the picture. Indie didn’t say much but Tammy was sure that whatever he said started with an F...

Indie doesn’t like the back yard and keeps trying to escape through the front door. Weeks and weeks and weeks of snow, and he still hasn’t figured out that there is just as much snow outside the front door as there is at the back. Chyna isn’t too bright either. She now wears a red jacket and BOOTS when she goes for a walk. Although, to be fair, Tammy thought, that was probably Barbara’s idea.

Minus 4 and wind chill factor of minus 14, the weatherman said. That probably meant it was cold. And there was Indie throwing himself at the front door yet again. As for Neil and Barbara, they were going out! As Tammy always said, ‘No fur, no brain.’

Back to bed with Chyna. Not such a bad old sort after all. Chyna was a bit grizzled and had a bad heart but was perfectly trained. Occasionally, Tammy has heard Neil and Barbara talk about getting a new dog when Chyna died.

“Over my dead body,” thought Tammy. It had taken 14 years of hissing and gentle love taps for Chyna to learn her place. The thought of training another dog was just too exhausting….

Barbara Fairhead and her husband moved to Canada two years ago. They got to sit in the sardine section upstairs while their pets, Tammy, Indie and Chyna had to slum it in their individually designed, fully upholstered, turned-around-three-times Skykennels. Great Royal Family fans, the Fairheads celebrated the Royal wedding with royal blue trifle and fascinators. The enclosed photo is of Chyna wearing her fascinator. Barbara's was not quite so successful.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

When Hearts Collide by Kendra James (known to many of us as Bev Irwin)

2011-12-23T07:11:00.001-05:00

Molly Tanner, unjustly suspended from her nursing position, is choosing flight over fight. Driving along a lonely, twisting highway, Molly misses a deer, but the oncoming car is not so lucky. She rushes to aid the injured motorist. Slumped over the steering wheel, he is not moving, but Molly hears the cry of a child coming from the backseat.

Smelling gas and afraid of the car exploding, Molly pulls the driver and child to safety. Semi-conscious, Pearce beseeches her to pretend to be his wife so his daughter won’t go into foster care again. Remembering her own life in the system, she agrees. But while caring for Gracie, and her father, Molly finds she’s in danger of losing her heart to both of them.

When Hearts Collide is available from Soulmate Publishing here.
Visit Kendra on-line here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Rebecca Carter is joining Janklow & Nesbit's UK office

2011-12-22T16:44:00.004-05:00

New York:
445 Park Ave.
New York, N.Y. 10022-2606
London:
13a Hillgate Street,
London, W8 7SP, England
http://www.janklowandnesbit.com/

Janklow & Nesbit is one of the world's premier literary agencies. Rebecca Carter comes to the agency from Random House UK, where she has long been an editor, most recently with Random House's Harvill Secker imprint.

Rebecca's chief interest is in literary fiction, though she's also edited nonfiction. She has a particular love of unusual narrative history, and novels that explore hidden corners of the past (or present).

Books she has edited include Némirovsky’s Suite Française, Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Atiq Rahimi’s Earth and Ashes, Gerard Woodward’s August trilogy, Ma Jian’s Beijing Coma, Javier Marías’s Your Face Tomorrow, Diana Evans’s 26a, Tom Reiss’s The Orientalist, Faïza Guène’s Just Like Tomorrow, Tim Butcher’s Blood River and Xiaolu Guo’s A Concise Chinese–English Dictionary for Lovers. You can read an interesting piece written by Rebecca here.

Submissions
Query Janklow and Nesbit's New York office at: info@janklow.com
Query the UK office at: queries@janklow.co.uk

Brian Henry will be leading a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, reviewed by Michelle A. Greenberg

2011-12-21T12:13:00.000-05:00

Doubleday Canada, 2009, 304 pages; $14.40 (paperback).

If you were to cross Marie Curie with Nancy Drew, the result would be Flavia de Luce; a precocious child in the post-WWII English countryside with a passion for poison and a propensity for mischief. Canadian author Alan Bradley’s series of mystery novels surrounding the adventures of Flavia de Luce are written with the old-school charm of a vintage Agatha Christie novel. There is never a dull moment in the village of Bishop’s Lacey, and Flavia is sure to weasel her way into the heart of it.

In The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, you get to know Flavia and her beloved laboratory as she solves her first murder with a variety of impressive deductions. Of course, Flavia finds the body, and although the police are involved, she can’t help but investigate this one herself.

The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag follows Flavia over the course of yet another murder with a rather odd set of events that will keep you wondering what she will discover next. The third volume of Flavia’s adventures, A Red Herring Without Mustard, was released in 2011 with a fourth to be released in November 2011 and at least two more in process. If you love mystery with a touch of whimsy and a side of eccentricity, you won’t be able to put Flavia aside.

Quick Brown Fox welcomes book reviews, interviews with authors and other book-related articles. Guidelines here.

Michelle Greenberg is a real estate professional in Toronto, Ontario. In her off-duty hours, she spends a lot of her time with her nose buried in a book. Sometimes, she likes to write her own stories and is working on improving her creative writing skills. In the past, she has contributed food reviews to online magazine Prospere and continues to blog irregularly here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Happy Hanukkah!

2011-12-20T15:54:00.000-05:00

When the sun goes down, it's time to light the first candle...
Best of the season to everyone!
- Brian

The 2012 Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar – available now!

2011-12-19T06:25:00.002-05:00

Whether you’re a beginner or advanced writer, if you’re looking for places to send your work, you should put contests on your list. The Canadian Writers’ Contest Calendar gives a full listing of contests in Canada arranged by deadline date. It lists contests for short stories, poetry, children’s writing, novels, and non-fiction – contests for just about everyone.

The 2012 edition is now available and costs just $20 at one of my workshops or classes or $23.50 by mail (all taxes and shipping included).

To order, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

If you already ordered your contest, expect it soon; I put them in the mail on Saturday.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write a Bestseller workshop, Saturday, April 28, Kingston

2011-12-17T08:29:00.001-05:00

How to Write a Bestseller
Saturday, April 28
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Lions Club, 935 Sydenham Road, Kingston. (Map here.)

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published; some – such as Kelley Armstrong – have even landed on the New York Times bestseller's list.

Fee: $32.74 + 13% hst = $37 paid in advance
or $35.40 + 13% hst = $40 if you wait to pay at the door.

To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Travel Itch magazine seeks stories of your adventures and misadventures and your reviews of restaurants, travel books, movies...

2011-12-16T09:51:00.001-05:00

Hello, Brian
We are a fledgling, Vancouver-based online travel magazine. could you post this call for submissions for us?
- Bradley
http://thetravelitch.com/

You bet. That's what Quick Brown Fox is here for...

"The Travel Itch is the next best thing to experiencing Canada and the world firsthand. It offers fresh Canadian perspectives on travel that entertain and inform while agitating the itch to go. We are hunting for original travel articles from blossoming and bloomed Canadian writers about their travel experiences at home or abroad."

Adventures stories should be a maximum of 1,500 words. Travel Itch especially wants tales of far-flung places or experiences off the beaten path. Must include photos.

Misadventures should maintain respect for the people or cultures involved and should exhibit a strong sense of humour. Maximum 1,500 words.

Travel Itch also wants narratives from kids. Maximum 900 words.

Reviews of restaurants and local foods and drinks in far flung locales, and articles about unique recipes, culinary events, reviews of cookbooks, etc.should be a maximum 1,000 words.

Reviews of travel narratives, guidebooks, pictorials, travel films, etc. should be a maximum 1,000 words.

Full submission guidelines here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

InkTank call for submissions

2011-12-15T13:29:00.002-05:00

Hi, Brian.
It's Ricky Lima from your creative writing class last year. I'm writing you to tell you about a literary blog I’ve started with a couple of other people. It's called InkTank Magazine and it's a small online publication. We like to publish different creative works and really strive for quality. Each issue has its own theme.

January's the month to dispose of all the wrapping paper and toss out that old fruit cake. Pull up your stockings because this month InkTank is going through your trash. So let's tour he landfill, take some time to reflect on all the excess, or just keep on celebrating! How about some hair of the dog that bit you instead? Deliver us your best garbage on a silver platter. Tell us your tales of excess or discuss where the world is over-doing it or just falling short. Send us your prose or poetry by Dec 31st.

For the February issue, we're looking for submissions dealing with the theme Individuality & the Multitude. Use your imagination! Submissions due Jan 14 or Jan 31 for 2nd editon.

We accept a wide variety of content from many mediums and genres. This includes (but isn’t limited to) prose, poetry, editorials, opinion pieces, essays, multimedia, comics, etc. If you’re not sure it fits, email us a pitch and we’ll check it out.

Read our full submission guidelines here. Check out themes for upcoming issues here. And check out the December issue of Inktank here.

All the best,
Ricky Lima
http://inktankmagazine.com/

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Love Letters

2011-12-14T07:50:00.003-05:00

Hello Brian,
I have attended a workshop of yours and have never stopped writing since. I recently tied first place in my local library writing contest with my short story "The Piano Lesson". I won $350! It is going to be in the Meaford Independant online along with the other winners of the contest.
Alison Hall
You can read Alison’s story here.

Hi, Brian.
Here’s my big news: I’ve sold A Shadow in the Past. It's the manuscript I brought to your Writing for Children and Young Adults workshop back in April. (Yeah, I know, it’s not a kid’s book.)

Since then, it underwent a major update and I entered it in the Mills & Boon New Voices contest. I got a lot of feedback from there, most of which was the beginning was too long. So back to the drawing board and I completely re-wrote the first three chapters.

I heard about the Muse It Up online writing conference so signed up for it and appointments to pitch to editors and agents. So on October 4, I pitched to Vivian Zabel at 4RV Publishing and she asked me to submit. I wasn't expecting to hear back right away since their website says 3 – 6 months and only if they're interested. You can imagine my surprise when later that evening, I got an e-mail from them saying, "We're offering you a contract."

The release date is scheduled for May/June 2012.

I really enjoyed the workshop in Kingston and am looking forward to more. I think there are only three that I've not attended.

Melanie Robertson-King
www.melanierobertson-king.com

Hi, Brian.
Another of my short stories, "The Gift" has been accepted for publication for the month of December at http://howyahdoon.blogspot.com/

Two of my poems have been published as well. "Floating" in the 60th Anniversary book of Tower Poetry Society, as well as my poem "Dancing Willow" which has been exhibited at the Art Walk in Dundas, Ontario.

I look forward to another time you come to Hamilton so that I might once again take another course.
Wilma Seville.

Hi, Brian.
I took your advice from the workshop you gave at the World's Biggest Bookstore and for the first time I submitted a piece of my writing – a poem, actually – and it was accepted by a publication and will be published next February 2012 in Poetic Pinup Revue!

I always felt my written pieces were like children and hesitated putting them out there into the world, but you gave me the nudge I needed. I'm ready! Thank you! As for the story I started in your workshop, I will be expanding on it, and changing the location.

Take care and have a great day!
Donna Ortolan

Hi Brian,
I took your Writing for Children workshop several years ago in Woodstock. I am pleased to announce, my novel, Search for the Quinset Keepers, has just been published by OakTara Publishing. I read the opening chapter at the workshop and it was discussed and a few suggestions offered.

It’s a YA science fiction adventure which I used to read to my grade seven students every year. The parents pushed me to find a publisher when I retired. Thanks again for your help at the workshop.
Armand Matte
More info about the novel can be found here.

Writer to Writer:
Published author/English teacher-in-training is eager to edit manuscripts for very reasonable rates. For more information, email brandon.c.crilly@gmail.com
Thanks,
Brandon Crilly

Hi, Brian.
Just heard from commuterlit.com and they're going to post my story, Life in Hand. Yay! This is the one I wrote during the summer class. Thank you for your helpful feedback and support!
Brenda Buchanon

Read Brenda's story here.
For information on submitting to CommuterLit, see here.

See Brian's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Get Published workshop, Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of the Anne McDermid literary agency

2011-12-14T06:41:00.005-05:00

Eutopia by David Nickle,
one of Monica's clients

An editor & an agent tell all Saturday, June 9
10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Four Corners Library, 65 Queen St E. Brampton (Map here.)

If you've ever dreamed of becoming a published author, this workshop is for you. We’ll cover everything from getting started to getting an agent, from getting your short pieces published to finding a book publisher, from writing a query letter to writing what the publishers want. Bring your questions. Come and get ready to be published!

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Guest speaker Monica Pacheco is a literary agent with Anne McDermid and Associates. The McDermid agency represents literary novelists and commercial novelists of high quality and writers of non-fiction in the areas of memoir, biography, history, literary travel, narrative science, investigative journalism and true crime. The agency also represents a certain number of children's and YA writers and writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy.

The McDermid agency's clients include distinguished literary authors such as Esi Edugyan, winner of the 2011 Giller Prize, Michael Crummey, Greg Hollingshead, Andrew Pyper, Nino Ricci, David Adams Richards, Michael Winter and Vincent Lam. The agency also represents writers of narrative non-fiction, such as Charles Montgomery and James MacKinnon, both of whom won the Charles Taylor prize for literary non-fiction in their years of publication.

More recently, the agency has been branching out to represent upmarket commercial fiction writers, such as Leah McLaren from the Globe and Mail, Robert Wiersema, and Peter Darbyshire.

Monica represents a growing list of writers, focusing on children's, young adult, science fiction and fantasy. Her clients include actress/writer/director Sarah Polley whose children’s picture book she sold to HarperCollins Canada, Yves Meynard whose fantasy trilogy she sold to Tor/Macmillan, Madeline Ashby whose science fiction novel she sold to Angry Robot in the UK in a two-book deal, actress Katie Boland whose short story collection she sold to Brindle & Glass , and Bram Stoker Award-winning horror writer David Nickle.

More on the McDermid Agency here.

Special Option: Participants are invited to bring a draft of a query letter you might use to interest an agent or publisher in your book. You don’t need to bring anything, but if you do, 3 copies could be helpful.

Fee: $38.94 plus hst = $44 paid in advance
or $42.48 plus hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door

To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Intensive Creative Writing course, Wednesday evenings, March 21 – June 13, Mississauga

2011-12-13T07:07:00.001-05:00

Twelve weeks of creative growth
Wednesday evenings, 6:45 – 9:00 p.m.
First set of readings distributed March 21.
Classes run March 28 to June 13
Sheridan United Church, 2501 Truscott Drive, Mississauga (Map here.)

This course is for people who are working on their own writing. The format is similar to the "Intermediate" and "Extreme" courses: Over the twelve classes, you’ll be asked to bring in six pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures at the start of each class, addressing the needs of the group.

In addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led writing workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee: $170.80 plus 13% hst = $193
Advance registration only. These courses usually fill up, so enroll early to avoid disappointment.

To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian Henry's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Intensive Creative Writing course, Wednesday afternoons, March 21 – June 13, Burlington, Ontario

2011-12-13T07:06:00.000-05:00

Twelve weeks of creative growth
Wednesday afternoons, 12:30 – 2:45 p.m.
First set of readings distributed March 21.
Classes run March 28 to June 13
Appleby United Church, 4407 Spruce Ave, Burlington. (Map here.)

This course is for people who are working on their own writing. The format is similar to the "Intermediate" and "Extreme" courses: Over the twelve classes, you’ll be asked to bring in six pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures at the start of each class, addressing the needs of the group.

In addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led writing workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee: $170.80 plus 13% hst = $193Advance registration only. These courses usually fill up, so enroll early to avoid disappointment.

To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian Henry's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

You're invited to a book launch for Shades of Teale by Susan Crossman, Sunday, December 18

2011-12-12T22:23:00.004-05:00

The new novel of love lost and hope restored

Hi Brian!
I’m telling everyone I know about my book launch, and you’re at the top of the list. Especially because I appreciate so much the insights and inspiration that grew out of attending your courses and seminars last year. They were all hugely valuable for me and great fun to boot!

Please drop by A Different Drummer Books, 513 Locust Street in Burlington (map here) on Saturday, December 18 from 1 to 3 p.m.

I'll be selling and signing copies of Shades of Teale and saying hi to all my friends. No reservation required, just drop in and say hello!

I’m also looking for volunteers to review the book(free copy provided!), so if anyone is interested, just let me know! You can find out more information about the novel here.
People can email me directly at susan@crossmancommunications.com

Best wishes for a bright and cheerful holiday season!
Warmly,
Susan Crossman

If you can't make the book launch to say hi to Susan and buy an autographed copy, Shades of Teal is available through Amazon.ca here. Or encourage your local bookseller to order a copy through the University of Toronto Press Distribution.

See information about Brian Henry's upcoming weekly writing courses here. See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

"L.C.B.O. Holiday Time" by Maureen Kozak

2011-12-12T09:52:00.002-05:00

I was working hard on Wednesday,
It was load day at the store,
We were schlepping lots of boxes,
Demonstrating “Door to Floor.”
A customer approached me
With her bottle of red wine,
“Is it nice?” she said unsurely,
“Of course, madam, it’s just fine.”
The demands they are unending,
I sometimes want to scream,
Instead I opt for action
Dummying up the Irish Cream.

“Merlot,” said the young man,
“Cabernet,” said his aunts,
“Pouilly fussé,” said the lady
With the silver spandex pants.

My energy is flagging
And I think I need a drink,
Thank god for staff selections
And the Aussie mob for “Pink”.
Lines at cash are unending
But the staff is of good cheer,
And the music reassures us –
“It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”
The customers are demanding,
Sometimes we’re at a loss,
“I’m seeking a big promotion –
Where’s a cheap good wine for Boss?”

“Pinot Grigio,” said the young man,
“Chardonnay,” said his aunts,
“Pouilly fumé,” said the lady
With the silver spandex pants.

New Year’s Eve approaches
And the need for sparkling wine,
We’ll ring in “2012”
And champagne would be divine.
Again the stocks diminish,
Again the shelves are bare,
The customers search for product
And again it isn’t there.
Take heart, more wine loads cometh,
Once more, the store we’ll fill,
If there’s a way to solve your problems,
Then this staff has got the will!

“Amarone,” said the young man,
“Bardolino,” said his aunts,
“Manischewitz,” said the lady
With the silver spandex pants!

Maureen Kozak is an aspiring writer who lives in Oakville and works at the LCBO. When not dispensing holiday spirits to customers, she may be found at the back of the store setting up staff tastings.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Quick Brown Fox ~ The Cake

2011-12-10T21:41:00.003-05:00

This past Monday, we concluded our class in Georgetown with a bit of a party. Everyone read a piece aloud to the whole group and brought all sorts of wonderful finger food to share, including this marvelous cake in the shape of a thick, multi-layered book. Thanks, Joan!

The baker/artist by the way was Jackie Thompson of Butterfly Cakebox in Caledon. See some more of her amazing creations here.

And the cupcake was for Alejandra who had a birthday on Monday. Happy birthday, Alejandra!

- Brian

See information about upcoming weekly courses here.

See my full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Malahat Review 2012 Novella Prize

2011-12-09T08:30:00.001-05:00

The Malahat Review, Canada's most prestigious literary journal, is accepting entries for its semi-annual novella contest for works of fiction, 10,000 to 20,000 words in length.

Deadline: February 1, 2012. Prize: $1500
Entry fee: $35 for entries from Canada; $40 USD for entries from the US; $45 USD for entries from elsewhere

Mail entries to:
The Malahat Review
Novella Prize
University of Victoria
PO Box 1700 Stn CSC
Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2

This year's judges will be Valerie Compton, Gabriella Goliger, and Terence Young. Read a recent interview with our 2010 Novella Prize winner, Tony Tulathimutte here. Read the full contest guidelines here. For information about The Malahat Review's other contests and about submitting pieces not as part of a contest, see here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Call for submissions ~ Speculative fiction wanted for "Here be Monsters" anthology #6

2011-12-08T09:27:00.002-05:00

Here Be Monsters is an anthology of short stories published out of Montreal.

"We are looking for unpublished works of speculative fiction in any genre, that are less than 10,000 words long. If you have a story that you would like to submit, please send it as an attached document to herebemonsters.info@gmail.com

"Put: 'Here Be Monsters Submission' in the subject line. In the body of the email, please give us your name, address, and an email or phone number where we can contact you.

"We are currently looking for stories for the sixth issue, which will be out in Winter 2012. The deadline to receive submissions is January 16th, 2012.

"Standard payment is $30 and a free copy of the anthology in which your story appears. Here Be Monsters will purchase first Canadian rights, non-exclusive anthology rights, and first online rights. We do consider simultaneous submissions, but please note this in the body of your submission email.

"We are looking forward to reading your stories. Thank you."

See the Here Be Monsters blog here. Submissions page here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

“Just another day at the office” by Lisa Nolan

2011-12-07T07:21:00.001-05:00

Nigel sweated in his expensive Boss suit, even though his office was fully air-conditioned. “Bloody, hot Toronto and its humidity,” he muttered. After two sweltering summers he still wasn’t used to the heat. The extra weight he was carrying wasn’t helping either.

“I can’t believe you’ve lost it!” he bellowed to his articled clerk, Bryan, who Nigel had already decided was an imbecile. “How could you lose something so important? I asked you to put them in a safe place!”

“I did,” Bryan muttered, his teeth grinding as he tried not to spit the words out. In fact, as he distinctly remembered, he hadn’t put the envelope anywhere. He’d just left it among the mounds on his desk. Only problem was, the bloody envelope had disappeared.

Nigel bounced into the room and reached for his handkerchief. “These are important documents. I need them by the end of today, and I need that statement gone over as well.”

Bryan winced, the words slapping him across the face. This was going to be another late night. He had for once made some plans with a potential date. Sighing, he put together a private email suggesting they meet for dinner another night and pressed send.

“I don’t feel you’re concerned about this!” Nigel griped from his inner sanctum. “And I can see you’re not looking for it.”

Nigel’s plush office had a much coveted view of Bay Street and of the Lake, but personally Nigel enjoyed the inner window overlooking his clerk’s office, even more. He watched Bryan scrabbling to action - overturning books, files and photocopy boxes in vain. “You know people are queuing up for your job,” Nigel said to see if that would speed the search along.

Bryan muttered silent curses. “The rise up the ladder is a climb,” he whispered, repeating his daily mantra. But bloody hell, if he ever got out of here, he was heading straight for the Grisly Goat. A shot of Scotch and the company of other battered clerks wouldn’t actually improve his mood, but at least they’d listen to him whine – no matter how late it was.

“Christ, I don’t know where I’ve put them,” he muttered and recoiled back in his chair, his mind going over yesterday’s events for clues.

The phone rang and Nigel picked it up. Bryan watched as Nigel munched on doughnuts and talked at the same time.

Bryan kicked around a couple of neglected files on his desk. Nope, the missing in action envelope wasn’t hiding there. He heard Nigel put down the phone and stepped up his search, becoming more animated as he knew the spotlights from the prison tower were back on him.

“There will be no escaping early for you today. Oh, and I’ve run out of doughnuts, “Nigel said, handing the empty box to his beleaguered clerk.

Bryan grabbed his suit jacket and with his reply of “Okay” and “Lunch” travelling at the same speed as his departure he was gone.

Susie, the blonde, tight receptionist with a Texas drawl that made Nigel shudder, poked her head into Nigel’s office. “Oh you are here. Line 3, sir, its Carmichael from the London office.”

Nigel dragged his gaze away from Susie’s geography and went back into his sweatbox to take the call from his old chum. He let his belt buckle out another notch as he sat damply down for his usual lunchtime call.

Bryan returned with a box of doughnuts while he was still on the phone. “Keep looking, “Nigel ordered, covering the phone. “It’s got ‘Brewster’ written across the envelope. He’s one of the firm’s most important clients.”

Bryan shook his head in disbelief. This can’t be happening on my watch, he thought as the afternoon stretched painfully out before him. He frantically resumed the search around his dishevelled office and felt his liquid lunch returning. He stumbled over his crammed garbage can, spewing the contents over the floor. Damn, another mess!

He started refilling the garbage can and his fingers stuck to a box hidden underneath some screwed up papers. Now what? He wasn’t surprised to realize it was an old doughnut box, no doubt thrown into his trash by Nigel.

Bryan lifted the box gingerly by what he hoped was a clean corner and tossed the box aside to take to the kitchen garbage. It landed upside down. There stuck to the bottom was the envelope. Doubtless it had been captured when Nigel had put his box on Bryan’s desk.

Relieved, Bryan unglued the envelope from the box and waved it with triumph.

“Found ‘em! The Blue Jays tickets for Brewster. Envelope’s a bit sticky. Seems to be donut jelly. Strawberry, I think.”

Nigel turned red and Bryan smirked. This would definitely be a good story tonight at the Grisly Goat.

Lisa Nolan lives and works in Mississauga, Ontario. Originally from the UK, she has been enjoying her new life in Canada for three years. Her passion for the written word began with children’s poetry and collecting antique books as a teenager. She has recently started writing short fiction and is at work on her first novel.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Defending Glory by Anne K. Albert

2011-12-06T10:37:00.000-05:00

Hi Brian,
I first had the privilege of meeting you many years ago via the Toronto Romance Writers. I also attended at least three (or perhaps it was four) of your workshops over the years.

I just wanted to let you know all the hard work has paid off. I've achieved my dream of being a published author, and I did it in both of my favourite genres - romantic suspense and mystery. :)

Vanilla Heart Publishing has released my romantic suspense novels, Defending Glory, the first book of myPiedmont Island Trilogy series ("where troubles outnumber residents") and Frank, Incense and Muriel, the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries series. It was also selected as a Top Pick by Night Owl Reviews!

Thank you for helping make it happen.

By the way, it was good to see you at your October 22 workshop in Elliot Lake and look forward to seeing you again.

Kindest regards,
Anne K. Albert
http://www.AnneKAlbert.com
http://anne-k-albert.blogspot.com

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Eric Hoffer Award for short prose

2011-12-05T07:01:00.000-05:00

Each year, outstanding works of short prose deserve wider recognition. The Eric Hoffer Award for short prose recognizes excellence in writing with a $500 prize and various honors and distinctions.

Works of short prose (short stories or short creative nonfiction) must be less than 10,000 words, previously unpublished, or published with a circulation of less than 500. The winning prose and selected nominations are published annually in the anthology, Best New Writing.

Anyone can submit prose for The Hoffer Award.

Submitting to the Eric Hoffer Award & Best New Writing
1) Place your story in the body of an e-mail.
2) Place your personal information at the end of the story.
3) Place the word "submission" and your title in the subject line.
4) Send your e-mail nomination to submission@BestNewWriting.com

This e-mail address has been reserved for nominations only. Submissions are read quarterly following the last day of March, June, September, and December. You will receive a response within two weeks of those dates. If your story is promoted to the next level, it is being considered for the Hoffer prize. We will notify you of the judging progress between May and July, if not much sooner.

Full submission guidelines here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Tradewind Books seeks picture books, chapter books, children's poetry, and young adult fiction

2011-12-04T11:21:00.004-05:00

Tradewind Books
202-1807 Maritime Mews,
Vancouver, BC V6H 3W7
http://www.tradewindbooks.com/

Tradewind Books is a publisher of books for children and young adults. Tradewind Books accepts unsolicited submissions from both writers and illustrators. "We ask that writers show that they have read at least 3 of our titles before submitting a manuscript." (See current titles here.)

Picture Books:
"We accept submissions from both writers and illustrators. Writers should submit the entire manuscript of their picture book. If you are a professional illustrator submitting a picture book, please include the manuscript, a dummy, and a sample reproduction of the final artwork. Do not send original artwork."

Chapter Books and Young Adult Fiction:
"Please submit the first three chapters, a chapter outline and a plot summary. We do accept chapter book submissions from non-Canadians for books that will be illustrated. We accept YA fiction only from Canadian authors."

Poetry:
"Please send a book-length collection of your own poems."

Nonfiction:
"We do not publish information books."

Submissions:
"Please submit your manuscript by mail with a cover letter of relevant information, including your own experience with writing and publishing. All submissions must include a self-addressed and stamped envelope. We try to respond within three months. Do not submit more than one manuscript at a time."
Full submission information here.

Brian Henry will lead "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshops in St. Catharines on January 14 (see here) and in London, Ontario, on April 21 (see here).

Also, Brian will be leading a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, May 12 in Brampton with Monica Pacheco of the Anne McDermid Literary Agency (tentative date; details to come).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Bree Ogden joins D4EO Literary Agency, seeks young adult fiction

2011-12-02T16:37:00.008-05:00

D4EO Literary Agency
Principal agent: Robert (Bob) Diforio
7 Indian Valley Road, Weston, CT 06883
http://www.d4eoliteraryagency.com/

D4EO has over 1,000 published books under contract and has launched the writing careers of more than two hundred authors. The agency is based in Connecticut with associate agents in Seattle (Mandy Hubbard, Kristin Miller and Bree Ogden) and Destin, FL (Joyce Holland).

Bree Ogden is the newest member of the team. Previously she was an associate literary agent at Martin Literary Management for nearly 2 years. Bree has spent many years working as a freelance journalist and currently co-operates the macabre children’s magazine Underneath the Juniper Tree where she serves as Editorial Director. Bree is seeking Middle grade, Young Adult, New Adult fiction (readership: ages 18-30), Graphic Novels, YA Nonfiction, and Art books. She is especially looking for...

Young Adult:

• Dark (not angst-ridden)
• Realistic
• Psychological horror (with no paranormal elements)
• Hard sci fi. Meaning no fantasy, or magical realism at all
• A Dexter-ish type YA black comedy
• A Roaring Twenties historical for YA
• A manuscript written in the era of Mad Men with panache and style
• A unique and theme-driven art book

She will not look at:
• Paranormal or fantasy (that includes urban fantasy)
• Romance (unless there is a superb dark, psychotic element)
• Magical realism
• World building

Query Bree at: bree@d4eo.com
Paste the first 5 pages of your manuscript below the email; no attachments.

More about Bree here. More on the D4EO Agency here.

Brian Henry will be leading a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

Also, Brian will lead "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshops in St. Catharines on January 14 (see here) and in London, Ontario, on April 21 (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

"Poor Me," some thoughts on Adele's “Someone like you” by Susanne Toito

2011-11-30T06:29:00.001-05:00

We'e all been through it: heartbreak. The stuff of all the best love songs and love stories. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, they live blissfully for an undetermined length of time that of course seems to stand still, then one leaves for some tragic reason and the other is left to wallow in self-pity until the next adventure begins.

Why do we fall for these depressing, soppy songs and stories? They are like the tissues we use up, crying over our lost loves: soggy, disgusting and useless. But deep down we relate to them.

We have all wallowed in the same feelings of self-pity. And what’s even more attractive is what these songs create – something we all would have loved to have gotten in those moments of self-pity: the pity of others. People to hear our story and think: “Poor you…” with a tear in their eye.

This, is what Adele’s "Someone like you" attempts. The song starts out innocently enough, with her nostalgic memories of the lovers’ time of their lives, their glory days that nothing could possibly compare to.

Ah yes, this is the stuff of our own memories of first love. But then, the lovers are torn apart, for reasons Adele conveniently perhaps omits. He finds someone else, settles down, and "is married now."

What does this woman do? Move on like any level-headed, self-respecting woman? No, she comes back into his life (she’s ba-aack), as if that is not bad, she even admits to coming back uninvited. If this is not the makings of a full-fledged stalker, I don’t know what is.

Adele repeated reminds us how he begged her not to forget him, but do you really think he was asking for a home wrecker? We all say things we don’t mean in relationships - cut this guy some slack, Adele.

Oayk, you would think we can still find some empathy for her. She is looking for closure – "for me, it isn’t over" – she's a woman, deeply hurt. But let’s look at his point of view: this guy went on with his life, found someone else, and got married. Heck, even Adele says "his dreams came true" and that perhaps this other woman "gave him things" she didn’t give him (like a sane, decent reciprocated love relationship, maybe?).

Why on earth would she want him back? What was she expecting? That he see her face, "be reminded" of his love for her and by some magic drop his dream come true to live with this self-pitying Jekyll and Hyde?

Yes, Jekyll and Hyde, because she takes us through her bittersweet memories, makes us feel her pain, then reveals that she is stalking him – yet she still wishes him the best. I cannot help but hear the threatening tone when she wails out “Never mind, I’ll find someone like you.”

Which brings me to the question: does she mean she will actually go on with life and find someone like he has done (and any sane person would do), or as the freakish nature of the song suggests, will she find someone just like him and do it all over again?

You can watch Adele perform “Someone Like You” on YouTube here.

Susanne Toito lives and works in Oakville, Ontario. Her love affair with the language and written word began as she bloomed into adolescence, in Mr.Clancy’s grade seven classroom. She enjoys writing poetry and short fiction, and has plans to complete a novel in the near future.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Marie Lamba of The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency seeks middle-grade and YA fiction, women's fiction & memoir

2011-11-29T09:13:00.001-05:00

Jennifer DeChiara Agency
31 East 32nd Street
New York, NY 10016
http://www.jdlit.com/

The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency is a full-service literary agency founded in 2001. The agency represents children’s literature for all ages – picture books and middle-grade and young adult novels – but also represents high-quality adult fiction and non-fiction in a wide range of genres.

The categories we are most enthusiastic about agenting are literary and commercial fiction; mysteries, thrillers, celebrity biographies; humor; psychology and self-help; parenting; health and fitness; women’s issues; men’s issues; pop culture; film and television; social issues and contemporary affairs.

Marie Lamba is the newest member of the team. Marie comes from the writing side of the business; she's the author of the young adult novel, Over my Head. As an agent, Marie is looking for young adult and middle-grade fiction, along with general and women's fiction and some memoir. Books that are moving and/or hilarious are especially welcome.

She is not interested in picture books, science fiction or high fantasy (though she is open to paranormal elements), category romance (though romantic elements are welcomed), non-fiction, or in books that feature graphic violence

Some recent favorite titles on Marie's reading shelf include: Searching for Caleb Anne Tyler, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, Paper Towns by John Green, The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger, Twenties Girl by Sophia Kinsella, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gayman, Shug by Jenny Han, and Doing It by Melvin Burgess. Marie also admits to watching many, many chick flicks. Marie blogs here.

Submissions:Query Marie at marie.jdlit@gmail.com
Put "Query" in the subject line of your email. For queries regarding children's and adult fiction, please send the first twenty pages in the body of your email, along with a one-paragraph bio and a one-paragraph synopsis.

For queries regarding a non-fiction book, please attach the entire proposal as a Word document (the proposal should include a sample chapter), along with a one-paragraph bio and a one-paragraph synopsis of your book in the body of your email.

Brian Henry will be leading a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

Also, Brian will lead "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshops in St. Catharines on January 14 (see here) and in London, Ontario, on April 21. See here.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.